Unbound by you
by Haynee93
Summary: Not entirely sure why he was inviting a woman he had just met back to his castle, Zen laughed nervously "I'm sorry, I can't" surprised he decided to press the matter further "why not?" he noted that she sighed a little as though somewhat disappointed "chains are not always needed" He turned away "Shirayuki, I will figure out the mystery that shrouds you"
1. Chapter 1

_Thank you for taking the time to read my story, although I have changed the story its only for fun, I love the original and so I hope that I don't disappoint anyone. I would love to hear your thoughts and if you enjoy I hope you will check out my other stories too._

 **Nature is beautiful and yet powerful- it is both capable of sustaining life and also taking life away. The rain can provide drinking water though too much water can cause someone to drown. For Shirayuki nature was everything, she had never left the safety of her forest- she had never needed to. The forest provided everything she needed, food and water were easily acessable and she had learnt everything she could ever need to know about herbs and natural medicines. Nor was she alone, certain furry residents of the forest had become used to her presence and so she had plenty of friends albeit non human ones- having lost her parents when she was younger. Their cause of death was still unknown to Shirayuki though she had a feeling it had something to do with the reason she knew she must never leave the safety of her forest.**

 **"Slow down Zen!" Mitsuhide couldn't understand why Zen wouldn't just use the horses, why did he want to run everywhere all the time? Kiki chuckled and stopped, waiting for him to catch up "hurry up or we will loose sight of Zen, you know what he's like for running off" she turned around and groaned "...hes gone" she walked over and slumped up against a tree "we will have to wait here for him to come back for us, he could be anywhere" she shot Mitsuhide an angry look "this is your fault you know?" Mitsuhide bent over and clutched his knees for support whilst he caught his breath "yes I know I know I need to train more to keep up with that one"**

 **Zen had jumped up into a nearby tree in order to look around better, he had never come out this far from the castle before and wanted to see what lay beyond. He looked around and chuckled "hehe lost them" he had come to look at Kiki and Mitsuhide as friends though that didn't change the fact that they were his guard. Even a prince needed time alone to be himself now and then. He jumped into the next tree, even if they carried on searching for him surely they wouldn't think to look in the trees...although Kiki was a little too good at her job- and a little too good at reading Zen. He jumped into another tree and carried on until he was sure they would not find him.**

 **He found a large branch on the edge of a stunning meadow. A single beam of sunlight lit it up as though beckoning him, It was so peaceful and with such an exquisite scenery around him he wished to admire it and so he perched on the branch and sat back. The wildflowers that grew here were plentiful and colourful. There was a vast array of wildlife moving at ease- suggesting they did not have much human contact or else they would be more nervous. His eyes rested on something strange. In the midst of the blue, yellow and purple wild flowers that dominated the area in the clearing there was something deliciously red- a red similar to a very tasty apple. Zen silently dropped from the branch in order to investigate further. It was such a contrasting colour to the rest of the meadow, surely it did not belong? He stopped suddenly in surprise- Hair. The gorgeously bright red Hair belonged to a young woman who was knelt in the middle of the meadow picking weeds... why weeds when there was so many beautiful flowers nearby?" Zen picked a nearby flower and walked closer to the woman, who still had not noticed him approaching.**

 **"I believe this flower suits you better" the young woman jumped in alarm and cowered with her hands over her head. Zen was disturbed by her utter terror and fell to his knees in panic "please! please! I promise I'm not going to hurt you! here..." he held out his hand with a warm smile. She lowered her hands cautiously looking at him with large doe eyes-that still radiated a large amount of fear "I'm Zen, pleased to meet you" She took his hand gently as they both rose to their feet "Shirayuki" her voice was quiet and shaky but it seemed she was no longer terrified.**

 **Zen was overwhelmed by her beauty- her large green eyes, her gentle touch and her unusual delicious looking, apple red hair. Zen once again offered her the flower and she stared at him apparently confused "why would I want that one, it has no use" Zen frowned a little "it's pretty right? what other use could it have" Shirayuki smiled kindly "every thing here is pretty, but I need the useful ones... like this" she picked up the basket of weeds "This is good for cuts, it soothes and has healing properties...by the way, how did you get here?" Zen looked at the weeds in uncertainty- they didn't look any different. He shrugged and pointed towards the trees "I was climbing trees" he noted that she had a deep frown on her face- had he been trespassing? "No I mean... this forest is a special forest, not any one can just walk in here" Zen rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment-so he** _ **was**_ **trespassing "ah sorry, I didn't know that it was owned land, I will leave right away" she smiled kindly once again and shook her head "this land is not owned by any one, nobody can own nature. I mean this forest is a magical one, it doesn't normally let human's in, they kill animals and nature so they are forbidden" Zen tried not to laugh- was he supposed to believe that? He didn't wish to be rude so he chose not to correct her "you are here, are you not?" she smiled once again although this time it was different- sad? "I am similar to these animals" not knowing what she could mean by that Zen folded his arms and frowned a little, though he did not press the subject as a strange feeling entered him warning he shouldn't delve into this.**

 **He knew he should be heading back but something about Shirayuki fascinated him, he wanted to know more about her "Oh my! Your hurt" Zen looked to where her finger was pointing and failed to hold in his laughter "oh that's nothing! I must have scratched myself when I jumped down from the tree" ignoring him she pulled a jar out of her pocket. It was full of a yellowish liquid. She dipped her finger in and rubbed it over the cut. Zen failed to see how this was supposed to help- it stung more now! Or at least it did, she was right... the pain was slowly disappearing "wow! It actually works! Thank you" she pocketed the bottled and smiled warmly once again "so you live here?" she nodded and looked around proudly "yes, this is my home" Zen smiled charmingly "I would love to show you around my home sometime" Not entirely sure why he was inviting a woman he had just met back to his castle, Zen laughed nervously. He was however taken aback by her answer "I'm sorry, I can't" surprised by the ache of disappointment that had settled in, he decided to press the matter further "why not? do you need to ask someone or something?" he noted that she sighed a little as though somewhat disappointed herself and a new wave of curiosity set in.**

 **This mysterious red headed woman was so interesting and Zen knew he couldn't leave without knowing more "chains are not always needed" she smiled somewhat bitterly then bowed "It was nice to meet you Zen. Please excuse me I need to get back. Good bye" She turned away causing his heart to stop- No! He needed to know more! He grabbed her hand without thinking before abruptly letting go "ah..I'm sorry please forgive me, I just wanted to know if I could come see you again" her eyes were wide in Surprise before she gave that sweet smile "if the forest allows it" with that she waved good bye and walked away disappearing into the trees and leaving Zen stood there dazed "if the forest allows it? what does she mean?" He shook his head and turned away from where Shirayuki had left him "I must get back for now. Shirayuki, I will return and figure out the mystery that shrouds you"**

 **Zen retraced his steps until he found Kiki and Mitsuhide- impatient to tell them about the mysterious red headed woman he had met in the forest.**

 _So that's the end of the first chapter. I hope your as curious about the mysterious Shirayuki as Zen is- if so please look out for the next chapter!_


	2. Chapter 2

"Zen...there isn't a forest" Zen had asked Kiki and MItsuhide to come along with him to see Shirayuki again- he knew that would be the only way he would be aloud to leave the castle again. He had been running around with them both for a while trying to find the forest again despite Kiki insisting there was no forest around here "I'm telling you there is a forest here, I was sat in a beautiful meadow where I met Shirayuki...why are you looking at me like that?" Kiki and Mitsuhide had stopped walking and were looking at each other as though Zen had gone crazy "Zen we have passed this way many times and not once have we ever come across a forest or a Meadow" Zen stood with his hand on his chin "is this what she meant?" he shut his eyes thinking back to what she had told him "she said ' _this forest is a special forest, not any one can just walk in here'_ maybe that is what this is, maybe I can't find it because you two are with me" face etched in suspicion Kiki folded her arms and narrowed her eyes "I see now Zen, if you wanted time alone from the castle why not just out run us like normal?" shaking his head Zen paced around impatiently "no, no, no! I really was there! I am telling the truth...please Kiki, Mitsuhide. Will you wait for me over there again?" Kiki was still eying him up suspiciously however Mitsuhide stepped forward and placed his hand on Zen's shoulder "I can see that you are serious Zen, I will return to the castle with Kiki and make an excuse to your brother. Just...be careful ok?" He walked off and beckoned Kiki to follow him.

Zen walked around and around but still the forest did not appear _Shirayuki said that he could return if the forest allowed it, was he no longer allowed? if so why?_ He pictured the meadow and the red hair that drew him in. Dreams of the meadow and the beautiful, mysterious red haired woman had dominated Zen's mind all night, he knew he must once again find her.

With this thought a gentle breeze passed through him- different from an ordinary wind. He stood and knew what to do. He looked all around him until she spotted a nearby tree- the same tree he had used to escape yesterday. He jumped up and sure enough the path to the meadow was clear.

Sure enough a short while later Zen found himself stood in the meadow but was confronted with a new problem- how could he find Shirayuki? He turned around slowly on the spot hoping to identify the path she took as she left but somehow it all looked identical. A rustle of leaves caused his heart to leap, however it was just a lone deer. He felt its eyes looking into his and wondered for a moment _would this work?_ "hi there little guy, do you know where Shirayuki is?" the deer ran off leaving him stood there feeling a little foolish. He had all but given up before another rustle caught his attention "Hello Zen" heart pounding he turned slowly to face Shirayuki "hello again, did...did that deer tell you where I was?" she chuckled lightly "no... the forest told me" colour rushed through his cheeks "oh..I see" she smiled kindly and held out her hand "would you like to come meet her?" Zen took her hand ignoring the flutters in his stomach "who?" she led him down a narrow path that went deeper into the forest "my adopted mother...and the guardian of this forest" somehow everything she said was so unexpected and strange yet only enthralled him more.

The walk was a short one and although she seemed at ease, Zen's nerves were out of control. Shirayuki continued to lead him by the hand occasionally glancing back to offer a warm smile "so you're taking me to meet your adoptive mother?" he watched Shirayuki closely, he noted that where most people would pull branches down or cut them out of the way- Shirayuki would gracefully step around them or duck under, move in any way necessary in order to not disturb a single branch nor leaf "yes, she has taken care of me since I was young" Zen stepped over a large rock jutting out of the ground "why? where are your parents?" Shirayuki stopped abruptly, he couldn't see her face though he noted her head was tilted towards the ground "I...I'm sorry I didn't mean to ask such a personal question! she straightened up and turned to face Zen with a somewhat forced smile "no, it's ok. They died a long time ago, they brought me here so that I would be safe and asked the mother tree to look after me" Zen felt her hand drop to her side- his hand was still warm from her kind touch "mother tree?" he had a feeling what she meant and it was confirmed when they had reached the end of the trail. A large tree was stood taller and wider than any other tree in the forest. Shirayuki left Zen's side and knelt by the tree- placing the palm of her hand against the bark "I'm back mother, I have brought him" Zen stood there blinking in disbelief- this tree was her mother? He sat beside Shirayuki quietly as he was lost for words "this is the Mother Tree, she is the mother of this forest and my adopted mother" the tree seemed old and frail, he noticed a small tear in the corner of Shirayuki's eye "what is wrong?" shaking her head as she wiped her tear away she forced her smile back "She is very sick, I have tried every herb in this forest and none will work. She is very old and her voice is fading fast! If she should die, this whole forest would too!" a feeling of helplessness washed over him, he could tell that if this tree died it would cause her great pain, but how could he help? "Hello Prince Zen Wistaria- second prince of Clarines" he looked around shocked _who was that?_ "you...are you the mother tree?" he had felt a warmth enter his body and touch his heart causing him to feel at peace "Yes, I have watched over this forest for thousands of years and I have protected Shirayuki for a long time also. I am not long for this world...that much is certain. The reason I opened up the way to you is because I have a request...if you will listen?" despite being stunned that he was talking to a tree he nodded "of course, what ever I can do to help- just ask!" He bowed his head with his eyes shut tightly- listening intently "There is a great evil that hunts Shirayuki and I have protected her from this all these years...she has been a prisoner to this forest for her own safety...I sense my time is near and so I ask you- Will you take Shirayuki with you and protect her in my stead? I sense that no one but you can accomplish this" His heart soared _take her with me?_ He pictured taking her back to his castle, passing her in the hallway, brushing her hand 'accidentally'. He swallowed hard and shook his head, he simply wanted to assure her safety "I will take her with me.. but will she come?" He could see how she cared for the tree and knew that she would not leave the tree easily "she will follow you, when I die- she will truly have no one else because when I die the forest creatures must move on to survive- and so she must too" Zen had made his mind up "I will do as you ask, you have my word she shall remain safe. I will stay here with her until she is ready to come with me"

Zen's eyes opened and realised that the whole conversation had happened inside his head. He looked over at Shirayuki who was still knelt and smiling in his direction sadly as though she had heard the whole conversation "she wants you to take me with you doesn't she?" nodding gently, Zen rose to his feet "you heard?" she remained knelt and put her forehead against the tree "no I just know her, I can tell that her time is near and I knew the moment she opened up the way to you that it was in order to find someone to look after me" _if she knew all along why was she so terrified?_ "if that's the case why did I frighten you so?" it was shocking to see such a dark expression emerge on her face "I thought you were someone else, someone who was here to take me away, if that was the case it would have meant that mother had died...I was scared" the huge tree already had wilted more, it indeed was dying at an alarming rate! "The Tr...your mother spoke of a great evil hunting you...is that who you thought I was?" her eyes widened and then she shut them "yes I thought it was _him!"._


	3. Chapter 3

"Him?" Shirayuki nodded slowly "all I know is what the mother tree told me. Years ago she sensed a wandering family- the father and mother were greatly injured and so she welcomed them into the forest for protection. Sadly the Father passed on before he had managed to enter the safety of the forest. She also sensed that the mother's time was also nearing. The mother tree feared for the safety of the child that accompanied them and so she spoke to the frail woman _'you are not long for this world, yet your child is still healthy. I shall see to it that she finds a new family to care for her'_ the woman's tears were that of joy _'I feel a divine presence here, I beg of you- please offer your kind protection over my dear Shirayuki- for should she leave this place_ _ **he**_ _will find her'_ the mother tree's instincts are to protect life and offer her protection for this purpose, and so she transformed her shape to that of a mother so she could fulfil the woman's final wish before she too passed on. On the day of the child's 16th birthday the mother tree had grown tired and needed to spread her roots throughout the ground once more- for the forest needed her to live just as she needed it. With this she returned to that of a tree so that she could regain her strength and replenish the slowly decaying forest…however it was too late the ground in which she once lived had already decayed and so as she is now unable to take nutrients from the soil she can not regain her strength and nor can the forest"

She finished her story with fresh tears in her eyes and wept uncontrollably "don't you see Zen, it is my fault she is dying! She left the earth to look after me and now she cannot fully return to it, she was away to long!" Zen consoled her in his arms and looked kindly at the tree "It is true that she left the ground to be your mother Shirayuki, but I doubt she would ever blame you for this" the tree had withered away even more yet found new strength from Shirayuki's words to speak out for the last time "My dearest child, Zen is most correct I would never blame you. Do not grieve my death. I have lived thousands of years and knowing that the end of my life means that yours was able to go on is all any parent would want. Do not despair, for nature and life is an endless cycle, take this…" A single acorn fell from the tree leaving it completely bare "offer your love and protection to this acorn just I have for you all these years and one day I shall be reborn…we shall meet again my beloved Shirayuki"

The Mother Tree fell silent and even Zen could sense the divine protection fading away. His heart also wept- for the forest, the beautiful meadow and the kind Mother Tree who gave her life to protect a single child. Shirayuki grasped the acorn in her hand and wiped away the endless flow of tears "goodbye…mother"

Zen sat next to Shirayuki in silence waiting patiently until she was ready to finally leave. He finally understood her words _'I'm similar to these animals'_ and 'chains _are not always needed'_ she had been a prisoner to the forest because she was unable to leave for fear of someone who was hunting her- just as the animals had also sought the protection of the mother tree, from being hunted by the humans for food and materials. Finally she stood and smiled gently "thank you Zen, I am ready to leave now. Are you sure its ok come with you?" he smiled warmly as he unhooked the chain from around his neck and offered his hand out signalling for her to hand him the acorn. He fastened the chain to it and handed it back "here, until you can find a place to plant her" beaming widely, she placed it around her neck before throwing her arms around Zen "thank you!"

Zen led the way towards the castle; despite himself he could not help feeling the weight of the task at hand. He had promised to keep her safe from an unknown evil- She had said _**him**_ because that was all her birth mother had told the mother tree but who was it? And when would he realise that Shirayuki no longer had the protection that she had kept all these years? Zen did know one thing however; no one would ever touch her while he lived. She was now unbound from the forest but as long as this evil was out there she would never be truly free.


	4. Chapter 4

Zen watched thoughtfully as Shirayuki walked a little ahead of him. Her eyes were wide in wonder and awe as she admired the unfamiliar world around her "the mother tree told me stories about the outside world, but I only ever heard about how dangerous and destructive humans were. Mother's forest was once open to anyone, but humans had started cutting down her trees and hunting the animals. Eventually she saw that they had inventions designed to trap the animals and so what should have been a place for them to eat and find shelter was no longer safe..this was not what she wanted and so she decided to close it off to humans" she knelt beside a nearby tree and placed her hand on it as she had done with her mother "I am glad to see that there trees here also, hmmm hes thirsty...you haven't had any rain for a while?" Zen looked in astonishment "no it doesn't rain much in summer wait...you can talk to him...I mean that tree too?" Zen walked over to the tree and smiled warmly "hello, what's your name?" Shirayuki laughed cheerfully and stood to face Zen "He is not like Mother tree, I have learnt- thanks to her guidance, how to listen to the souls inside plants and even some animals, but mother tree was given the gift of life by a very powerful sorcerer, she told me that his wife died in childbirth and in a desperate attempt to save her life he ended up preserving her soul in a nearby tree. That tree's soul merged with the woman's and so the mother tree was born- she knew that the woman grieved for she could not raise her child and so she decided that she would use her new maternal instincts to protect all life and nature instead"

Zen had sat as he listened to the story with utmost interest "what happened to the sorcerer and the child?" Shirayuki sat next to Zen so that their shoulders were touching and hugged her legs "the child grew into a strong young man and built a small kingdom nearby his mother tree. He married a beautiful woman and they had their own children and so the mother tree watched from afar as her grandchildren and their grandchildren grew up into strong young princes and beautiful young princesses. As for the father, he envied his son's success and his new family, mother tree told me she believed that he felt lonely as his wife was gone and now his Son had a new family. From this, resentment grew and the sorcerer did something unthinkable...he tried kidnapping the queen and taking the new kingdom for himself!" Zen frowned but stayed silent for the end of the story "of course the Son managed to stop him and banished him from the kingdom. The last words he spoke before disappearing was that one day he would have his own kingdom and beautiful queen...are you OK?" Zen stood and smiled stiffly "it's getting dark...shall we go?" Shirayuki stood and nodded shaking the grass off her clothes.

Zen was strangely silent as they walked and Shirayuki couldn't help but worry about what she could have said to cause him to frown like this. She worried silently until she could bare it no longer "Zen...did I say something bad?" He looked sadly at the acorn around her neck and shook his head slowly "No, I am sorry Shirayuki...its just that, the story you have told me, I have heard it... at least its similar to a story my own father used to tell me...not the part about the mother tree- just that my ancestor who built our Kingdom, his wife was also kidnapped by his father who was then banished...I think that perhaps the two stories may be the same and so..." he looked down at the acorn once again and closed his eyes as Shirayuki finished his sentence in understanding "you think you may be a descendant of the mother tree? Your kingdom is the same as the one in the story?" he nodded "yes I would say it isn't impossible, you said that the kingdom was built near the mother tree and I don't know of any other Kingdoms around here...apart from Tanbarun, but that is fairly new, it only came to exist as a kingdom a few decades ago and the story pre-dates it. I guess it all fits, why else would the mother tree trust me to enter the forest and entrust you to me? You said that she was watching her grandchildren and their grandchildren from afar...maybe she was watching me too?" Shirayuki clapped her hands together in excitement "yes your right! It certainly does make sense...so the sorcerer would also be your ancestor too? I wonder what happened to him? If he ever made up with his son?" Zen shook his head "I don't think they did, as far as our stories go- he was never heard from again. I didn't know about him being a sorcerer though"

They had finally reached the castle gates after discussing their different theories about what could have happened to the sorcerer and Zen was pleased to see the growing excitement in Shirayuki's face as she saw the beautiful castle. Zen's joy was short lived however, when he spotted an unwelcome sight...his brother was stood waiting for him with an air of annoyance radiating through him "there you are Zen! I have been waiting for you to come back for a while now!" Zen lowered his head uncomfortably "I am sorry- there is much I need to discuss with you..." Zen's brother interrupted him abruptly "I am afraid that will have to wait, we have received an urgent letter from Tanbarun. I need you to go there immediately on behalf of the royal family" Zen opened his mouth momentarily wanting to argue however he closed his eyes as he fought against the urge to sigh and lowered his head once again "as you wish".


	5. Chapter 5

"Good then it's settled. You shall make your preparations and set off for Tanbarun" Zen held out his hand as his brother turned to leave "Wait! Izana!" Izana stopped and turned back frowning. Shirayuki could sense that Prince Izana was not a man to be trifled with. He radiated an air of authority- yet she could also sense a fairness and kindness from him _He will make a good king._ "What is it Zen? I told you time is short." Zen nodded impatiently "it will only take a moment then I swear I shall depart. I have a request!" Izana's eyes widened- it was apparent that Zen did not speak up to him often, judging from the stunned expression on Izana's face "what is your request Zen" Shirayuki's hand was grabbed by Zen so that he could bring her forward "This is Shirayuki...I wish for her to accompany me to Tanbarun. As I said we have lots to discus but until then please trust me and grant my request" Izana eyed Shirayuki suspiciously- her natural beauty was obvious even through her dirty clothes and ragged hair. Having a great deal of pride in his ability to judge someone's personality, Izana could tell that she would not be a threat to Zen...he just hoped that she would not be a threat to Zen's mission either. "I have no issue with this request as long as you stay focused...she will need to make herself presentable...Annabelle?" The lady named Annabelle stepped forward with her head bowed "yes your highness?" Izana smiled stiffly "Please escort...miss Shirayuki to a guest room, have her cleaned up and lay out some appropriate clothing for her visit to Tanbarun...Zen, I will explain the situation whilst we wait" Zen bowed his head and turned to Shirayuki "I will see you soon...I promise"

Izana walked with Zen to his private chambers to explain as Zen packed "So why the sudden need to rush to Tanbarun?" Izana sat on the edge of Zen's bed and sighed "It is of the utmost importance that a member of the royal family go! They have a new King. It seems his predecessor passed away suddenly. As it stands we are vulnerable to attack. I have not yet ascended the throne and so we do not have a ruler. We need to go and re-negotiate terms of Peace and we need to see what Kind of person the new ruler is...our own kingdom is in a mess after father also died suddenly. I am currently trying desperately to help organise my coronation so that I might pull the Kingdom back together and there is a lot of affairs that need my attention here and so I must rely on you Zen to take on this important mission...depending on what kind of person this new ruler is, it could even be dangerous...are you sure you want to take miss Shirayuki?" Zen threw some clothes on his bed and sighed "You are right brother...that is an important mission, but I cannot leave her behind I have a mission on my own" No matter where Shirayuki was she was in danger and so the safest place for her was by his side.

Izana noted the strange expression on Zen's face and frowned in concern "Zen, you are a prince..." Despite himself Zen laughed sarcastically "Thank you Izana, I didn't know that!" Izana shook his head seriously "I trust you know this Zen...but do not fall in love with her, it will not end well for you both" Zen lowered his head "It's not like that Izana, I am simply acting as any prince should for his people" Izana chuckled quietly "I agree she is stunning Zen, and I do not pretend to know the situation but I can see that you are doing far more for her than any other commoner" laughing in response, Zen carried on packing before responding "she's far from common brother...she is unlike any other I have ever met" Izana stood and looked over his shoulder at Zen "well if that is the case, I may even make her my own queen" Zen stopped packing and stared blankly ahead angrilly until Izana spoke again "tee-hee only joking, I am your brother Zen and I can see that you care for her more than you let on- your face just confirmed it" Izana smiled playfully as Zen smiled stiffly in confusion, _did he love Shirayuki? Impossible! He had only just met her!_

Having finished packing, Zen left his room but was stopped abruptly as he bumped into Izana who was stood in stunned silence outside his door- looking at the doorway opposite and the young woman who had just emerged "Miss Shirayuki...I hardly recognise you!" Shirayuki's long hair was fashioned so that the top half was fastened back in an ornate hair piece and the bottom half flowed freely in loose curls. Her pale blue dress complimented her red hair perfectly. The dress was a typical gown that a noble lady or a princess would wear to travel but somehow even with such a simple dress on- she looked every bit the beautiful princess. Izana smiled in Zen's direction "here's an idea. Why don't you introduce Shirayuki as your fiance? This would provide an adequate reason for her to be travelling with you and allow her to be close to you at all times. It would also prove to be an efficient tactic for making peace. If you show trust in them by having you fiance accompany you, it would show them that we mean no harm and wish for peace" Zen was still attempting to control his heart rate in response to seeing Shirayuki dressed up, and now Izana was telling him to pretend Shirayuki was his fiance for a short while! Seeing how Zen had began to blush caused Shirayuki to giggle a little and smile "if it will help you Zen, I don't mind" knowing that Izana was right and that it would help his mission and help keep Shirayuki safe Zen nodded in agreement "very well, I shall pretend for now that Shirayuki is my fiance"


	6. Chapter 6

Shirayuki looked at the ring on her finger. She knew it was only pretend but even the thought of pretending to be Zen's fiance gave her butterflies, the ring was real enough too- Zen had explained that it was an a real engagement ring that had been saved for his actual fiance...when he eventually gets one, this was to avoid any suspicion.

Zen and Shirayuki sat quietly as they travelled to the nearby Kingdom, it wasn't far away but the awkward silence made it seem longer. Zen looked at Shirayuki and smiled shyly "how are you feeling?" she looked into her lap sadly and squeezed her hands together "I miss her, I miss the forest but I know it will get better with time" Zen nodded in agreement with a kind smile.

"I apologise that I have asked you to travel with me in this difficult time for you, however I have a very important mission in Tanbarun, Izana talked a little about it earlier but I haven't fully explained, I am going on a mission to make peace with the new ruler. We want to avoid a War because as it is our new ruler hasn't been crowned yet" Shirayuki's eyes widened in interest "what happened to the old ruler?" Zen's smile faded- yet he tried to remain cheerful "my father...recently passed away. No one really knows what happened, its still under investigation" She placed a hand over his in comfort and he raised it to his face to feel the warmth "I am sorry Zen, I understand your pain so if you need someone to talk to...you have been so kind to me and so I am here for you too" he wrapped his arm around her and rested his chin on her head "your very kind Shirayuki, thank you. The same goes for you though, I will always be here for you too"

The coach stopped and Zen climbed out so that he could help Shirayuki down. They turned to greet the welcoming party and Zen signalled Shirayuki to hold on to his arm so that he could escort her. They were led to the throne room so that they could be welcomed by the new ruler of Tanbarun. He seemed not much older than Zen, and equally as handsome, Shirayuki was concerned that she could not read into his soul, it was true she could not read humans as easily as trees or plants, yet she could always sense something...yet there was nothing from this man. He eyed Zen and his eyes widened as he looked at Shirayuki momentarily. Zen had spotted this and bowed his head "I am prince Zen- second prince of Clarines. This is my fiance Shirayuki. I am pleased to make the acquaintance of the new King and we thank you for your hospitality" The king stood and bowed back in respect to Zen and then to Shirayuki "welcome Prince Zen, Princess Shirayuki. You are the second prince? Where is the first?" Zen bowed his head lower "we do not mean any disrespect, my brother is in the midst of organising his coronation...he sends his apologies and hopes you understand" the King laughed lightly "of course, pay it no mind!I had heard about the tragic passing of the King...my condolences. I am King Zura" Zen noticed that King Zura's eyes kept glancing back to Shirayuki. He knew she was beautiful and had unusual hair and it was to be expected but it still made his blood run hot! Zen cleared his throat and King Zura's eyes returned to him "ah yes please allow one of my servants to show you to your room. I hope that you and Princess Shirayuki will join us for dinner" Zen smiled stiffly "of course, thank you" despite his pleasantries, Zen did not like this new King...was it the way he couldn't keep his eyes of Shirayuki? or was it because all of the pleasantries seemed false? Zen swallowed hard...it was both. He had a bad feeling and knew he didn't want to stick around any longer than he had too.

They were shown to their rooms and Zen was relieved that they were adjoined as he could stay close to Shirayuki and listen out for her too. Having changed for dinner Zen knocked on Shirayuki's door so that he could escort her. She opened the door and his heart stopped! She was wearing a full length evening gown, it was Royal blue and glistened...it reminded Zen of the sky just before dawn, when the distance was on fire with the rising sun yet the sky overhead was still dark and shimmering with stars. She wasn't simply pretending...she was every bit the princess. Zen scowled a little as he thought of King Zura ogling her over dinner and pulled her a little closer defensively. Shirayuki noticed this and smiled warmly "Zen, are you ok?" he shook his head slightly and laughed a little "don't mind me, I just...I think this mission may be a little harder than I thought" she nodded in understanding which surprised Zen, his experience with women was that they were normally easily taken in by men with charm...they didn't normally see the snakes underneath, he should have known that Shirayuki would be different "you sense it too?" She frowned a little with a thin smile "I can not read him, I feel like any person who has gone through this much trouble to hide their soul...must not be trusted. He appears kind and genuine...but he wants us to believe that. I fear that he is a different person altogether. Though I can not prove this and I hope I am wrong" Zen hoped she was wrong too because they could not afford to go to war with Tanbarun right now.

They were seated at the dinner table near King Zura- who once again was eying up Shirayuki. Zen coughed pointedly "so, shall we get on with business?" The king laughed heartily "wow you don't mess around Prince Zen, very well I shall cut down to the chase...your Kingdom has many fine qualities and I admit it would be a fine addition to my own" Zens mouth fell open angrily "is that a threat of war?" Zura laughed once again loudly "why not? your kingdom is vulnerable at the moment. You have no ruler and the kingdom is split in two is it not? It would be a fine time to strike...you do not wish this? Then persuade me...tell me why I shouldn't attack Clarines? What is in it for me?" Zen was furious, yet he knew this was true, this King was no fool. He knew that if he wanted Clarines he could take it, why settle for less than a whole kingdom if it was easily taken? "you underestimate us King Zura, my brother will be King shortly and it would only be a short time after that he would reunite the people again, Izana is a strong leader and is not to be trifled with. I will speak plainly. We do not wish for War, not because we lack faith in our ability to win, but because we despise needless bloodshed. Instead we want to look at what we can gain from one another through trade and friendship, rather than taking and killing" Zura's mouth curled at the edge "Clarines does have something I want, but once again I ask you, do you have the strength to stop me?" Shirayuki sat uncomfortably, things had not turned out well, this man did not want peace he wanted to be feared, he wanted to control...he wanted to conquer" Zen curled his fist into a ball and clenched his teeth "do you really mean to tell me that you do not wish for peace? What kind of King threatens War and the killing of innocent people when the neighbours wish for friendship? We have caused you no harm, we offer our hand in friendship and you want me to beg for it in return?! I ask you why?!" Zura's face twisted in rage so his features were no longer handsome. Shirayuki flinched defensively- she did not like this man! "do not assume that Clarines has done me no harm! do not assume you know anything about me!" His face softened as he spotted the trembling Shirayuki "I apologise, I did not mean to upset your Princess, as I said. There is only one thing I desire, and it seems only Clarine's second prince can offer me this. Should you consider I would imagine our Kingdoms would be very good friends!" Zen's stomach squirmed...he had another bad feeling "what is it you want from me?" Zura smiled pleasantly and pointed at Shirayuki "I want your princess" Zen stood up abruptly knocking his chair over "never!" He glared furiously at Zura as he cut up a piece of meat and chewed it calmly before responding "really? you would risk your kingdom for one girl? You can have any number of women but its not as easy to reclaim a stolen kingdom...especially if you die in the process...is she really worth all that?" Shirayuki's head was low... _how can he be so cruel?_ She stood and cast her angry green eyes on Zura before speaking "you have taken your game too far now. Isn't that what this was? You were trying to see how far you could push Zen to see what kind of person he is?" Zura raised his eyebrows "you think I was playing?" she nodded slowly "I can not believe that any King...or even any person could be so heartless...I have to believe that this is all some joke...or something for you to get to see Zen as a person..without all of the false pleasantries" Zura grinned and stood also "you are indeed an interesting woman, there is more to you than meets the eye. I admit, there may be some truth to what you have said, I did want to get a rise out of Prince Zen. How can you truly know a person if they only show a false persona in order to build a friendship. I wanted to know the real Zen. I apologise if I took it too far. He bowed and sat back down, so did Zen followed by Shirayuki "that was refreshing Zen, you must really love your fiance to consider letting your kingdom go to war for her! Now I know why your not the first prince!" he laughed at his own joke before taking another bite but both Zen and Shirayuki had lost their appetites.

Zura looked up grinning "Prince Zen, It is true that I do not wish for War, however there was one thing I was not joking about, I still want your princess!"


	7. Chapter 7

Zen was shaking with silent rage as he looked at the smug look on Zura's face "are you joking?" Zura wiped his mouth calmly on the edge of a napkin and set his knife and forks down "no, I am not joking. I have been searching for a long time for a queen and no woman has caught my eye like your princess has" Zen frowned deeply in confusion "you have only just become king correct? I doubt you have been looking that long for a _queen"_ Zura smiled and shook his head gently "I will rephrase then shall I? I have been looking a long time for a wife" Zen looked sideways at Shirayuki who was silent with her head down "I do not wish to go to war over this, however you would no doubt agree that it is ultimately Shirayuki's decision?" he turned and held Shirayuki's hand and she shook her head "how...how can I make such a decision?! Zen...tell me what do I do?" tears were emerging from her eyes _I do not like this man, how could I ever marry him? I do not wish for war- especially because of me!_ Zen sighed as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow "I will request for us to hold of on this discussion, I shall depart back to Clarines immediately to report to my brother and we shall discus our options. King Zura, please hold off on any acts of war while I consult with my brother- are you agreeable?" King Zura stood and bowed respectfully "I shall await your _favourable_ reply" he once again scanned his eyes over Shirayuki- who quivered in response.

They hastily packed and departed for Clarines. Shirayuki watched Zen silently, he was furious she could tell. He was shaking with anger and he was staring blankly ahead as though deep in thought "I'm sorry Zen" his expression faltered and he smiled gently "do not be sorry, I won't let him have his way!" she shook her head fiercely "I could never forgive myself if your kingdom went to war for me!" Zen took her by the hand kindly and brought it to his cheek and closed his eyes "I will not let him have you! I know we will figure this out! I know we can avoid war!" Shirayuki knew she would not want to marry that man, but she also knew that if it could help save lives...help Zen she could do anything.

Zen escorted Shirayuki to the guest room near his own before dashing to meet with his brother. Izana was in his study alone when Zen entered. "Zen?! I did not expect you back so soon?" Zen lowered his head in shame "I am sorry brother, I have failed" Izana's face darkened "tell me everything!" Zen sat down with his head in his hands- still shaking furiously "he...he wants Shirayuki, he is willing to go to war for her. He is not a man to be trusted. On the surface he is respectful and kind...but inwardly he is cruel and full of deceit...brother this may not end well, he wants blood and I do not believe he even wants Shirayuki! I believe that was all an excuse to start a war!" Izana sat with an expressionless face "did you give him Shirayuki?" Zen looked up in horror "of course not! How could I drag her into this?" Izana sighed and stood once again, he walked to Zen and put his hand on Zen's shoulder "Zen, I can see you care for her but she is no princess, and if one woman is the key to avoiding war then..." Zen knocked Izana's hand away angrily "Then what! Give her away against her will?! Drag her into a situation that has nothing to do with her?! I WILL NOT" Izana's face fell cold "calm yourself Zen, you forget who it is you are speaking to" Zen sat and lowered his head once more "I apologise Izana, however I refuse to believe that there is not any other way, you have not met this man, even if we did give him Shirayuki he would not stop there. He is playing a game with us" Izana sat once again and sat back with a sigh "this is bad, what shall we do Zen?" Zen shook his head slowly "I don't know Izana...I don't know" Izana sat up and started rifling through his papers "I will go in person to Tanbarun, I shall meet this King Zura and see if we can come to a different arrangement, in the meantime Zen, I will ask you to utilise our defences I want you to personally take charge of our army and begin preparations for possible war. I do not intend to attack or be attacked but this may present us with an opportunity..." he rested his head against his hands in thought "if we make our kingdom aware that we are under threat of war...maybe it could be possible to unite our people...if they think there is a threat from the outside they would band together to help each other survive and then they would need to look to a leader for reassurance- it would help me gain their confidence as a new King quicker than normal and help me accumulate followers and support" Zen nodded grasping tightly onto the flicker of hope in his heart "Ok brother, go to him and I shall stay here and start organising our defences" Izana nodded and started writing "It will be hard work, but I am going to attempt to hold my coronation one night from now...if I go to see him I will need to be on equal footing...I too need to be a King, once this has been achieved the people will see that my first action as King is to travel to the neighbouring Kingdom to negotiate peace...it looks like I won't get much sleep tonight" Zen stood "if there is anything I can help with brother..." Izana held his hand up "no. You have had a long journey and must be exhausted, get some rest" Zen nodded and turned away "and Zen..." Zen stopped- looking at his hand on the door handle "yes?" Izana narrowed his eyes accusingly "Shirayuki is only pretending to be your fiance...don't forget that! It will make things easier if you have to hand her over" Zen closed his eyes "you don't have to remind me that its all pretend Izana, however I assure you I shall not be handing her over to _anyone!"_ Izana smiled sadly as Zen closed the door behind him before muttering to himself... "sorry brother".

Zen returned to his room and fell onto his bed in exhaustion- neglecting to undress before he fell asleep. Zen's sleep was troubling- his worries were clearly cast through the images in his mind- and Shirayuki was in every one of them _why was he so worried? Nothing bad was going to happen...right?_ Zen was startled as a quiet knock sounded from his door. He rubbed his eyes "come in" he was surprised to see Kiki and Mitsuhide rush in with serious expressions on their faces. Zen jumped off the bed "what is it?" Mitsuhide remained quiet, Kiki put her hand on his shoulder, looked at him and stepped towards Zen with a sad face "it's Shirayuki...she's gone!"


	8. Chapter 8

Shirayuki looked out of the window sadly and sighed "chains are not always needed…." Once again she was a prisoner- bound by something other than physical chains. She was thinking about the night before with guilt squirming in her stomach.

She had returned to her room as requested but she could not settle- how could she let this wonderful kingdom go to war over her? She was beholden to Zen- he had brought her here when her mother tree had died and gave her a place to go. She had nothing in her life now except Zen- a kind stranger she had known for a short time. She stood up with her mind made up. She took a step towards the door however stopped abruptly as there was a knock. She opened the door curiously _who was it? Was it Zen?_ Surprisingly it was Prince Izana! "Hello Shirayuki, may I come in?" Shirayuki took a step back with her head low "Prince Izana! Please come in!" Izana sat on the chair nearby the window and beckoned for her to sit "I have a problem Shirayuki. I have a problem because I love my brother but I also love my kingdom and my people. And so how do I decide between my brother's happiness and the Kingdom's safety? If I chose one I fail the other. How do I know when to be a good brother and when to be a good King?"

Alarm surfaced on her face as she realized Izana was crying silently. She took a hesitant step toward him as she took the ring off her finger sadly and handed it to him "I do not expect you to betray Zen or to risk the safety of your people. Zen has done enough for me so I will go to Zura of my own free will I will protect Zen and the Kingdom of Clarines" Izana looked at Shirayuki in shock "why would you do that for a man you have just met and for a Kingdom you have no obligations to?" Shirayuki handed him the ring and smiled kindly thinking of her mother tree- Zen's ancestor. "What is my life in comparison to Zen's and a whole Kingdom?" Izana stood and took her hand "I may be able to find another way! I have arranged for my coronation to take place tomorrow I can unite our kingdom under the threat of war and I know that with Zen's help we can defeat him!" Shirayuki held Izana's hand gently with a tear in her eye "thank you, thank you and Zen for all you have done, however I can not allow this kingdom to go to war over me. Why would you go so far Izana? Why would Zen? Besides, it's not like I am going to my death, he simply wants a queen" Izana stroked her cheek fondly "Zen loves you Shirayuki, I can see that clearly even if you can't and he may not have seen it himself yet. How can I send the woman he loves into the clutches of King Zura- a man who would threaten war over a woman he has seen once?"

Shirayuki's heart was racing as she was forced in that moment to confront her own feelings for Zen. _How cruel! That I should only acknowledge my love for him now- when I am about to go marry another!_ She knew all along she had fallen for him but had ignored it because she knew it couldn't end well she allowed herself to calm down and a new clarity came to her she looked at Izana- she looked at his soul. "Izana may I ask you something? You came tonight with the intention to take me to King Zura am I right?" Izana looked down with a strange smile on his face "you really are perceptive; yes I had intended to take you by force if necessary- for the good of the Kingdom" Shirayuki frowned at him in confusion "then why haven't you? No that's a silly question. You warned Zen from the beginning that he should not fall in love with me- it would end in tragedy. You knew that by revealing the nature of Zen's feelings towards me I would have to face my own and you knew that armed with this I would go willingly to keep him safe! You really don't want to betray Zen-directly, but you would betray him in secret. You would have me go by my own will and take no blame regarding Zen's grief and thus keeping the kingdom safe and your brother on side. Isn't that right?" Izana clapped smiling "wow, you really can read people like a book" Shirayuki smiled sadly "Yes I am very good at reading people…just like I can tell that you love Zen, he is the most important person to you in this world and I know that it is the hardest decision you have had to make to betray him like this…I understand very well what the situation is but you needn't have bothered coming to see me and try to get me to make that decision- it was already made. You could have stayed in your room and not had to betray him at all…the betrayal would be all my own" Izana nodded with a chuckle "yes I see that now, I see the kind of woman you are and I understand why Zen has fallen for you. The words I said earlier are still true though, how can I send the woman my dear brother loves so much to King Zura?" Shirayuki picked up what little she had and took a deep breathe "don't worry Prince Izana, you aren't sending me anywhere…I am leaving of my own free will. Zen needs his brother and so he needn't know that you came here to speak to me"

Shirayuki battled once again with the guilt in the pit of her stomach, _did Zen really love her? Izana thinks so; he must be so upset that she left without telling him._ She straightened up as sight of the castle came into view.

It was surprising to see that King Zura was already there waiting for her- he must have received word from Izana. She stepped down from the carriage wearing a false smile and fighting the tears that were pushing their way out. "Ah my dear, please come in let me show you around your new home" he kissed her cheek- causing her hair to stand on end. She took his arm and allowed him to escort her inside.

Shirayuki frowned as she looked around- she was having a strange sense of Deja vu, had she been here before? She shook her head. She _had_ been here before she had been here with Zen- that's what it must have been. Zura led her into a grand bedroom "don't be shy this is your room now" she stood awkwardly in the doorway "erm…King Zura?" he smiled kindly…too kindly at her "do not be so formal we are to be man and wife soon please just call me Zura!" She nodded and took a step closer to him holding a fiercer expression than what she meant "I want your assurance that you have agreed to make peace with Clarines now that I have come" Zura smiled one again- this was a cruel smile that made Shirayuki pale and fight against the urge to vomit "Clarines must fall! I have had only 3 life ambitions…to gain my own kingdom, the fall of Clarines…and You!" Shirayuki backed away towards the door, something was wrong! This was all wrong! _This man….could it be?_ She looked at him in the eye furiously "who are you?!" Zura laughed maniacally "yes Shirayuki, you finally understand…I knew immediately that the mother tree had died and that she could no longer protect you, I have waited so many years to find you. I am no fool! I knew that she too had betrayed me and that she was hiding you from me!" Shirayuki gasped in horror as the realization that the very evil that kept her bound to the forest- was now standing in front of her!

Without a second thought she ran for the door, however it slammed shut in front of her! She dashed for the windows- yet they would not budge and the whole time Zura laughed as though he was playing an extremely fun game. "now wait here patiently my dear fiancé while I go kill Zen and his precious Clarines" with that he locked the door behind him leaving Shirayuki alone and helpless in the room. She fell to her knees and wept "Zen….I am sorry! Please be safe!"


	9. Chapter 9

Zen burst from his room and ran to where Izana was "where is she?!" Izana lowered his tea cup and looked at Zen blankly "she left of her own will for your sake" Zen smashed his fist onto the table "why didn't you stop her? You told me last night that there was something we could do!" Izana's stare grew cold but for once Zen didn't react to it "you are forgetting yourself once again Zen. Regarding last night, it is true that we may be able to withstand an attack...but we would incur so many losses. What is a lone woman's life compared to so many others would perish fighting to protect her? She is a commoner. How would people react if they knew a war had come and killed their loved ones who served under the King because of a commoner who had just appeared one night?" Zen looked down at his clenched fist _damn all these stupid rules! Shirayuki was right...chains aren't always needed!_

The two brothers faced each other in silence until a knock interrupted the tense atmosphere "enter" Izana stood to face the soldier that came in "Prince Izana, we have received word from Tanbarun...their King is coming to Clarines!" Izana frowned "did they mention the nature of their visit?" Zen was looking desperately from the soldier to Izana _will he come alone?_ He pictured Shirayuki next to his side and him introducing her as his fiance- his blood ran cold "is he alone?" the soldier bowed his head to Zen "We have only been made aware that the King is coming there is no word on any others- although we can assume he will be guarded" Zen knew it was reckless but he knew he must go to her. He turned away to leave and as though he could read his thoughts Izana addressed him "Zen, I forbid you to go to her. She has chosen her own path and you must follow yours...the two cannot meet- for your sake and the sake of our kingdom. You are a prince and as such sacrifices must be made...it is our duty" Zen sighed with his eyes closed- he could picture her red hair amongst the wild flowers and the imaginary thorny chains that bound her there "chains are not always needed Izana, do not bind me by rules. I did not ask to be a prince nor do I wish to be a slave to the ridiculous rules that arise from it" Izana put his hand on Zens shoulder with a hard look in his eyes "do you intend to disobey- that is treason Zen" Zen sighed and reached for the door "you aren't King yet Izana" he opened the door and turned back with a sad smile "I'm sorry brother".

Izana watched with a proud smile as Zen left the room, it pained him to have to 'bind him with rules' the fact that Zen was so ready to fight for something- regardless of the fact that Izana has forbidden it only showed to Izana how much Zen had grown up and what kind of man he was becoming- the kind that would fight to the end in what he truly believed in. Izana knew he must on the surface continue to act for the good of the kingdom however he also knew that inside he was strongly wishing for Zen to succeed.

Shirayuki paced around and round the room over and over again desperately trying to find a way to escape. How had he found her so quickly! She shook her head in frustration _no. He didn't find me, I found him I just didn't know it was him until it was too late!_ She kicked the bed angrily, she should have known! He was hiding his soul from her- she had already picked up on this! Why else would he do that unless he was familiar with the mother tree's powers? She should have put two and two together! She had so many questions and the more she thought the more questions arose. How did he claim the throne? How was he able to stay alive all this time? More importantly- what can she do now that he has found her and that Zen is in danger?!"

She looked through the window- it was no good. She was too high up to jump out- even if she did manage to somehow open the window! A click sounded from the door indicating it was being unlocked Shirayuki crept around the wall ready to dash for the exit but stopped abruptly as a lone woman stood there with a tray…which she dropped "your….Shirayuki?!" She took a hesitant step towards Shirayuki "are…are your parents ok?" Shirayuki frowned in confusion who was this woman? "You…you are princess Shirayuki are you not? Where is the King and queen?" Shirayuki remained silent _Princess Shirayuki? What does she mean?_ The woman came closer causing Shirayuki to jump "I will not harm you! I am Ellie I have worked as a maid in the castle for many years- I was employed by your mother and father" Shirayuki walked towards the maid warily "I am Shirayuki, but I don't know what you are talking about. My parents are dead and I have no knowledge of ever being a princess" The Maid's hand flew to her mouth in horror and she began to fight away tears " . ! They can't be dead! It must have been him!" she crouched down in despair and started shaking violently. Shirayuki fell to her knees next to the woman and tried desperately to calm her down "Ellie? Ellie please calm down and explain what is happening? Please talk to me!" She lowered her head and sniffled as Shirayuki helped her up and helped her sit on the bed "I'm sorry Princess, It's just that a lot has happened and your parents were so kind to me. I will tell you all I know"

Shirayuki sat next to her and listened intently, finally! Finally she may learn who she really was and what had happened to her parents "a few years back the King and Queen Suddenly vanished from the castle, we couldn't find any trace of them nor you. The Kings brother became the new King over night, he had begun to act strangely though- he wouldn't comment on what had happened to his brother or his family. The new King's wife started acting strange too and suddenly took her own life! The King was desperately trying to find a new Queen but all of them ended up also choosing death. Recently the King became ill and died suddenly only recently and now Zura has taken the throne but I am afraid I do not recognise him! I helped nurse him and yourself as babies and he was always such a sweet child but now" she sighed sadly "why has he become such a monster? Why are all these terrible things happening?" Shirayuki opened her mouth in shock "Zura's my cousin?!" Ellie wasn't answering her questions as much as she was creating new ones! _What in the world is going on? Isn't Zura the sorcerer? Maybe he was just disguised as Zura?_ Shirayuki mulled over the new information- She was the princess of Tanbarun? She thought of Zen and a light glowed within her- hope? She was a princess! If somehow she could overcome this evil that still plagued her maybe she could be allowed to be with Zen?

Shirayuki shook her head to empty unnecessary thoughts- she needed to focus on saving this kingdom and Clarines…and Zen! Shirayuki grasped Ellie's hand "thank you, I know why these terrible things are happening and I swear I will stop it! But first I need to escape, will you help me?" Ellie smiled "of course! If you say you will stop these terrible things I will help in any way I can!" Shirayuki jumped up ready to escape however Ellie was looking towards the door in fear "My, my Ellie, you mean to betray me- your King?!" Soldiers came and pulled her out ignoring Shirayuki's desperate attempts to fight them off "No! No! Please don't hurt her!" She grasped Zura's arm desperately "please Zura! Please don't harm her!" he smiled sweetly and embraced Shirayuki "my dear sweet Shirayuki, I will not harm her…she will be of use to me- so she will be safe providing you behave" Shirayuki stood there like a doll- a puppet on a string. He meant to use Ellie as a hostage to ensure Shirayuki behaved! How many more ways could she be bound without the need of any chains?!

 _Thank you all for taking the time to read and review etc. I hope you are all enjoying the story! I am having so much fun writing it and so I hope you are all having fun reading it, the story is taking a darker turn but what is a good story without twists and turns? I hope you will all continue to follow this story and maybe take the time to leave your thoughts. I hope you will all take the time to read my other stories too!... I am trying to update as often as possible so keep an eye out for the next chapter soon._ bye for now.


	10. Chapter 10

Izana paced restlessly at the entrance "where is he? Surely he should be here by now?" He had made all the necessary arrangements to receive the King of Tanbarun but despite sending word of his arrival- he had not yet turned up. Worried that something might have happened (or that he had bumped into an angry Zen) Izana turned to his guard "Did you sent any men to go meet the King?" the soldier nodded "yes your highness, however we have not heard anything from them since…further more we sent others to check and they have not yet returned either" Izana sighed, fighting against the fear that was eating away at his soul "I will go and see what is happening myself, prepare to depart immediately and gather some more of the guard" The soldier hesitated "your highness? What if it's a trap?" Izana's face grew angry…Zen was right! How frustrating it was to be tied down by stupid rules! "I do not care about myself! My brother is out there and I need to know he is ok…I said prepare to depart!" The soldier nodded and retreated immediately. Izana lowered his head _I know it must be a trap but If he does have Zen I cannot just sit around!_

Zen had departed from the castle with haste _I must go a different way around to avoid King Zura!_ He had decided to travel through the woods- it would take longer but would also offer him cover to avoid detection.

He had been running with all of his strength but had begun to run out of energy. He slumped down against a tree and looked up to the sky, he could see patches of blue sky and white clouds through the green leaves. His eyes locked on to something red amongst the green and blue- it was a deliciously red apple dangling from the tree. His heart throbbed painfully as he recalled Shirayuki's hair shining in the meadow amongst the flowers. He jumped up to the branch and reached out to pick the apple to eat but froze abruptly as he heard nearby rustles…someone was approaching.

Shirayuki was laid on the bed looking at the ceiling in despair; she had wandered the room fifty times over looking for a way out but had no luck. The door clicked and Shirayuki sat up straight. Her face became a vision of relief when Ellie entered the room once again with a lunch tray "Ellie, your ok!" Ellie set the tray down and smiled stiffly "Yes. King Zura asked me to relay a message to you 'As promised Ellie shall remain fine as long as you behave' he also wished for me to tell you 'please feel free to leave your room and explore the castle but once again remember to behave or there will be consequences' also Princess…I regret to tell you that there is more than my own life at stake if he decides to punish you" Shirayuki stood up abruptly with darkness grasping her heart "what is it Ellie?" Ellie lowered her head with her hands trembling slightly "the Prince of Clarines is being held in the prison cells" Shirayuki gasped and for a moment allowed the darkness to engulf her body, mind and soul. Ellie ran forward and held Shirayuki steadily "Princess, are you ok?!" Shirayuki pushed away the darkness that was suffocating her and found her breath "Ellie, did he specifically instruct that I have to stay away from the cells?" she shook her head "no, I believe he simply means that you can wander around freely as long as you do not try to escape. I think he wanted you to go there…I think he fears that my life alone is not enough to make you submit to him" Shirayuki nodded in agreement _yes holding Zen would be the perfect way to make her behave, he has the perfect excuse to hold him legally! She had consented to become Zura's fiancé, no doubt Zen would have come to rescue her and therefore he could be detained for attempted kidnap of the future queen!_ She looked to Ellie "will you lead me to the cells? Ellie nodded and Shirayuki hastened after her.

The cells were dimly lit and most of the cells had been filled "why are there so many down here?" Shirayuki looked sadly at each of the men, women… even children that were locked up…it was clear that some of them had clearly been here a while…they were silent and had withdrawn to the back of their cells- they had given up any hope. Others were crying and then there was people reaching out desperately through the bars begging to be freed "please, please I swear I am innocent!" Shirayuki felt bile rise in her throat as she came across a woman who was resting the head of her child in her lap…the child was alive but was weak "The King has taken to throwing almost anyone in here for anything with only rations to eat, most of these people are most likely innocent, or simply lived in poverty and may have stolen some bread to feed themselves" Shirayuki fought back tears _how cruel!_ The though that Zen was somewhere down here sickened her…however she could not see him anywhere "Ellie he isn't here?" Ellie frowned and grabbed her keys "maybe he is detained in the top priority prisons… he is a prince after all" Ellie lead her to a thick iron door and unlocked it. Shirayuki ran past her to the only occupied Cell but abruptly stopped in shock. It was not Zen in the cell! "Izana! How?…why are you here? Where is Zen?!" Izana smiled kindly behind the bars "I am glad you are safe Shirayuki. I thought Zen was also here…it seems I was tricked. I am glad Zen is safe though. I assume if he isn't here he is on his way…we must place our trust in him for now…I am sorry Shirayuki, I should never have let you go to Zura, Zen was right he warned me that it would not work..I simply wanted to take the easy option" Shirayuki knelt in front of him and grabbed his hand through the bars "No! I am glad you did; now I know who I am and what's happening!" Izana sat on the bed near the bars "tell me what you know" Shirayuki nodded "I don't know how much Zen has told you…" Shirayuki explained the story behind her upbringing and about how she and Zen had met…she progressed to explain what she had learned from Ellie- about how she was he princess and how Zura was her cousin. Izana remained quiet simply offering a nod or an "I see" occasionally. Shirayuki finished her tale and Izana stood "that is an incredible story, to think you were the princess of Tanbarun all of this time…fate truly works in magnificent ways. One thing still bugs me however…what is the story behind this sorcerer? You said Zura is your cousin? How can he be both the sorcerer and your cousin?" Shirayuki smiled knowingly "I believe that the Sorcerer had tried replicating the same spell that tied his wife to the tree… yet he has been doing it with the Royal members of this kingdom. Zura- according to Ellie, was always kind and gracious. Zura is now cruel and ruthless, yet at times knows how to express kindness. I believe the sorcerer has merged with him and so there will be traces of the real Zura left underneath. Zura's father also seemed to have change personality…so much so that his own wife committed suicide! I also believe that such a spell would be difficult to get right and flawed. The host body can not remain merged for long and so eventually dies shortly after…which would explain how the previous king died. I wonder if my father was also a victim. Maybe my mother and father learned the truth and tried to escape. I believe that they may have found a way to un-fuse the host, in my fathers case it was probably too late and he died I can only assume the sorcerer switched hosts to my uncle and pursued my parents to kill them before they divulged the truth. The mother tree must have known all along whose doing it was and so offered her protection to us all so that we may stop him" Izana nodded "you are very bright and are familiar with his powers Shirayuki, if that is the truth we may be able to stop him once and for all!" Shirayuki nodded with huge determination "what do we do Izana?" He concentrated for a moment "for now we do nothing. We must not let him know what we suspect we know. Go to him, act as his fiancé and let him keep me down here, try to gain his favor and try to protect everyone as much as you can, as long as we all play along we will be able to exploit the kindness he retains from your cousin. I trust Zen… he will offer us the opportune moment to all escape forever. Once we have escaped you must plant your mother tree and we must hope that we can find away to accelerate her growth so that she can offer us guidance. Ultimately Shirayuki, you must reclaim this Kingdom! I can see that we can bridge the gap between Tanbarun and Clarines if we work together" Shirayuki smiled brightly- finally she had purpose! She could be the key to uniting the Kingdoms and freeing the people of Tanbarun from the evil that plagued it…and her.

She had agreed to Izana that she would play along and keep everyone safe and so she knew what she must do first. She left the cells and proceeded to find Zura. It did not take long to find him, he had returned to her room to see if she had left or not…he knew she would go to the cells. "Ah there you are my dear" Shirayuki walked towards him "I went to the cells and I saw the prince, Zura I have received your warning…I will behave as long as Izana is unharmed!" Zura smiled kindly "very well I swear he shall remain safe" Shirayuki fought against her pride "I have one more request, please free the people in the cells and see that they receive urgent medical care!" Zura took a step towards Shirayuki and played with a strand of her hair- causing the hairs to stand on end "it shall be done" Shirayuki took a deep breath in and blinked against the tears in her eyes as she stood on her toes and gently kissed Zura on the lips _I'm sorry Zen!_ "Thank you Zura- I shall behave and I will become your wife!"

 _So so sorry for such a dark chapter but rest assured Zen is still free and I am certain he will play the hero soon enough! I promise to update soon. Bye for now!_


	11. Chapter 11

Zura grinned in appreciation "hmmm that's more like it...you!" he pointed at a nearby guard who stepped forward and lowered his head "release all the prisoners and see that they receive medical care. Be sure to tell them what a merciful queen I have chosen and to learn from their sins!" he nodded then hesitated "what about the high priority prisoner?" Zura glanced at Shirayuki and touched his lips where the warmth of her kiss still lingered on his skin "I'm in a good mood now, he is to remain my prisoner however I will allow him to be moved to a guest room...ensure he is guarded at all times" the guard bowed and left. Zura faced to turn to Shirayuki "see I am not all bad...we will be very happy together" he kissed Shirayuki on the cheek and grabbed her hand "I will see you at dinner" Shirayuki forced a smile in return- she could not speak, the lump in her throat was painful as she fought against her pride and tears" Zura left the room and Ellie stepped forward smiling strangely "did you really have to kiss him on the mouth? I thought I would be sick teehee" Shirayuki managed to smile warmly in response to her teasing "I did think it would be too much but I needed to really convince him...it seemed to work any way" Shirayuki screwed her face up playfully "it was awful...I won't be doing THAT again!" Ellie giggled playfully "thank you Shirayuki...its been so long since I have laughed like this. I need to excuse myself for now but I will come back later to help you dress for dinner" Shirayuki hugged her "no thank you Ellie. Having you here will give me strength to keep up this charade" Ellie smiled kindly "you are this kingdom's future...I will do what I can for you" with that she left the room leaving Shirayuki alone at last. She fell face down and allowed the emotions that had built up inside her to flow. She cried so hard so that she could empty herself of all her emotions and become an emotionless doll just as he wanted...until the time was right- until Zen came for her.

Zen froze with the apple in his hand as he heard someone approaching. He remained hidden in the branches of the tree. He watched as two figured emerged from a nearby overgrown path. Zen was alarmed to see that it was Mitsuhide and Kiki...both of them were injured and supporting each other. He jumped down from the branch causing Kiki to jump "who is there?!" Zen held his hands up "woah its me!" Kiki dropped Mitsuhide and threw her arms around Zen in relief before remembering herself and stepping back abruptly with flushed cheeks "please forgive me your highness! I was just so relieved to see you are ok!" Zen shook his head "Kiki its ok...just tell me whats happened?!" She fell to her knees and fresh tears flowed down her cheeks "Clarines...its fallen into the hands of that Zura! He has Prince Izana!" Zen's mind fell blank as he fell to his knees. His anger flowed out of him in a blind rage as he hammered his fists against the floor "No!NO!NO!NO! HE HAS SHIRAYUKI AND NOW HE HAS MY BROTHER AND SO CLARINES TOO! I WILL KILL HIM!" Mitsuhide looked like he had been injured greatly yet he stood so that he could approach Zen "Prince Zen, all is not lost. We have you! Izana fell into his hands because he believed you had become Zura's prisoner and feared for your safety" Zen raised his head a little and nodded "you are right Mitsuhide, I am their last hope now. I need to free my brother and Shirayuki" Kiki stood up and faced Zen "we will go with you!" Zen stood up too and put his hand on her shoulder with a warm smile "thank you Kiki and you too Mitsuhide, however I need eyes and ears in Clarines and to make sure the people are safe. Can I ask you to return to Clarines?" They nodded and turned around "stay safe...Zen" they left the way they came as Zen watched them depart fondly "thank you my friends". Zen ran with all of his strength towards the castle _hold on you two! I will be there soon!_

Shirayuki had cried away all the tears her eyes could offer and she felt a strange sense of refreshment- as though the rain had fallen on a cloudy day leaving behind a bright blue sky. She smiled to herself in encouragement _everything will be ok!_ She looked up as the door handle turned- _is it time to get dressed for dinner already?_ Her heart stopped as Zen entered the room stealthily "Zen! Your here!" he held his arms out as she flew into them and buried her head into his chest "your ok...thank heavens" Shirayuki nodded and stepped away from Zen to sit on the edge of her bed "Zen, I need to fill you in with what we have learned" Zen listened just as Izana did but when Shirayuki divulged her true identity as the princess he stood up in pleasant surprise with a huge grin on his face that soon disappeared as he became somewhat agitated when Shirayuki admitted that she kissed Zura... _maybe I shouldn't have told him that! gaaaaaaaah you idiot he will definitely hate you now!_ Zen altered his face into a mischievous smile and leant in to Shirayuki. Her eyes widened as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her passionately "sorry Shirayuki, I can't bare the thought of his lips on yours...I needed to get even! Besides...your asking me to leave you here a little longer so that we can find a way to free your cousin from the sorcerer, I needed to know that you are my fiance and not his!" Shirayuki smiled happily "wasn't that pretend?" Zen kissed her once again before saying "not if you don't want it to be" Shirayuki pushed him away playfully "that's a lousy proposal Zen!" He laughed and shrugged "awww I got shot down, one day though I will do it again and you will say yes!" Shirayuki beamed "I look forward to it" Zen stood and took her hand- squeezing it in encouragement "You were always a princess to me Shirayuki...I just didn't know you were Tanbarun's princess. I have a plan, do you trust me?" Shirayuki nodded and embraced him tightly "I trust you with my life Zen" he kissed the top of her head "good, then I will see you later...and Shirayuki" his face darkened a little as he addressed her "don't kiss Zura anymore ok? I can't handle the jealousy it causes within me" he finished with another mischievous smile. He turned to leave before stopping as though he had an after thought "is the acorn ok?" Shirayuki grasped it around her neck and felt its warmth "yes!" he sighed in relief "good because you need to plant her quickly so you can ask her for help right?" Shiryauki nodded "yes, but it won't be so easy. I can use the powers she taught me to nurture and help her grow faster than normal but it will still take time...years maybe. If I can find the right kind of soil and develop my powers further I may be able to do it a lot quicker" Zen frowned in concentration "I have an idea and I think it can also help you with your powers...as for the soil, I will leave that to you as I have no idea regarding that" Shirayuki nodded "I trust you Zen... do what you must. Just remain safe" he nodded and left the room.

Shortly after Zen had left Ellie had entered so that she could help Shirayuki change for dinner "my Princess you look more cheerful! Did something happen?" Shirayuki stepped into the dress Ellie passed her and smiled shyly "tee hee that would be telling!" She knew she must reign in her glee so that Zura would not know she had 'miss-behaved'. Ellie brushed her hair and fashioned it beautifully "your hair really is so beautiful, as are you princess" Shirayuki thanked her and followed her to the dinner table. Zura was sat on the end and he beckoned Shirayuki to sit next to him. "Good evening dear Shirayuki, we shall have our special guest join us soon" Shirayuki looked at the remaining place mat opposite her _Izana is to eat with us? I am glad that he is no longer locked up in that cell_ "ah here is the young prince now" Shirayuki looked up to greet Izana but blinked in confusion "Zen?!" Zen sat calmly opposite her and smiled apologetically "allow me to explain Shirayuki, Zen had come to beg the release of his brother and the deal we arrived at was that prince Zen would take his brother's place. I have agreed that Prince Izana may leave and take his place as King and I would keep you and Zen...of course Izana may become King but he will be at my mercy!" Shirayuki blinked in disbelief "you let Izana go?" he smiled sweetly and grasped her cheek affectionately "of course I promised you no harm would come to him...by the way Shirayuki. I am looking forward to more of your delicious kisses later" Shirayuki lowered her head in embarrassment and noted the blank expression on Zen's face _he knows hes being goaded he won't allow himself to play straight into Zura's hands._ Zura pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear "I love your hair Shirayuki, its looks beautiful made up this way don't you agree Zen?" Zen eyed up her hair too and nodded before offering an overly friendly smile "I agree King Zura" Zura was enjoying himself tormenting Zen- he was dangling Shirayuki in front of him at any opportunity and knew that Zen and Shirayuki were his puppets as they both feared for the life of the other...he didn't know however, that Zen's plan was already in motion and as long as it carried on smoothly- both he and Shirayuki could endure this torture together.

 _I hope the light humour was enough to combat the previous darker chapter! That King Zura may think that Zen and Shirayuki are at his mercy but they are simply biding their time until they can free the real Zura I hope you will all look forward to the next chapter...I promise to update soon bye for now!_


	12. Chapter 12

Zen looked any where but at at Zura toying with Shirayuki. Dinner had been a painful affair but dessert was worse. Zura had ordered Shirayuki to feed him the apple pie and with each bite she offered him he would return her a smouldering look that was causing Zen's anger to boil to a dangerous level. Shirayuki kept her face blank and she did as was instructed. Zen noted that she was avoiding eye contact with both him and Zura, most likely out of embarrassment. Zura picked up his own spoon and lifted a mouth full to Shirayuki "no thank you, I am full from dinner" Zura smirked and held the spoon in mid air "aww come on it's delicious just try one bite" She opened her mouth reluctantly and Zura fed her the spoonful. Zen watched as some of the custard dropped onto her collar bone and started to run down. He suspected Zura had intentionally done this to torment them further as he leaned in with his tongue out. Shirayuki realised his intentions and stood up abruptly "I will clean it myself thank you! I have a napkin" Zura's eyes darkened and he turned to face Zen "oh but that would be a waste wouldn't it prince Zen?" Zen stood up ignoring the question "I will return to my room now. Thank you for dinner" he could not watch anymore! Zura stood up too "very well prince Zen. Good night" Zen took a hesitant look at Shirayuki who looked at him with silently longing eyes, he smiled warmly for her sake and bowed "goodnight...princess".

Shirayuki looked angrily at Zura "must you torment him so? You have won. I have submitted to you. Why did you have to toy with him at dinner like that?" Zura stood and walked close to Shirayuki-too close! He rubbed his nose against her hair and pulled her closer to him in an embrace "you have asked me to keep them alive and I have done so. I have listened to your every request have I not? The least you can do is allow me to torment him a little. Shirayuki clenched her fists and blinked against the angry tears "but why must you torment him at all?" He kissed her cheek and stepped back "I have my reasons Shirayuki" She knew what reasons he was referring to but didn't want to let on how much she knew "I am going to return to my room also if that's ok? I wish to take a bath" he nodded "very well goodnight".

Shirayuki walked abruptly to her room and smiled at the guards kindly "please make sure no one enters my room as I am getting a bath" one of them nodded and opened her door for her. She ran in and over to the window. It had been sealed shut magically last time but surely Zura wouldn't need to, or be able to, keep it locked now. Sure enough it swung open against the cold night air. Shirayuki gulped with fear as she looked down below, it was so high! She climbed through the window and on to the ledge. Her legs were becoming weak with fear but she knew she needed to see Zen. It was heavily raining outside and her hair was wet in an instant. The wind whipped her wet hair across her face as she walked causing it to sting. Ellie had told her earlier which room Izana had been moved to and she guessed that Zen would be using the same. It was only a short walk from her room and so the same must be true for the ledge outside. The wind had picked up and Shirayuki was shaking fiercely out of coldness and fright as she walked. She peered through every window she passed both to see if Zen was in there and to make sure no one else could see her.

She stopped suddenly as she came to a gap on the ledge, the stone has worn away and though it was not a particularly wide gap, if she misjudged her jump she would fall to her death. She fought against the voice in her head telling her to give up and turn back but the fear in her body was also screaming at her to give up. She eyed the gap with determination- _NO! I need to see Zen!_ without any more doubts she leapt and managed to land safely on the other side. She had crouched low whilst she calmed her hammering heart, and then she heard a voice-Zen's? She peered in his window and saw that he was talking to a guard. She ducked down to avoid detection and waited until his voice fell silent. She stood up carefully and tapped on the window gently. He looked over to the window with a furious expression. He ran to the window and caught her as she fell through with relief "What were you thinking?!" Shirayuki could not talk through the chatters her teeth were making. Zen threw a blanket around her and pulled her close. She closed her eyes and savoured the feeling of his warmth and his embrace. Her heart had ached for this so much that she had half forgotten the reason why she had come here in the first place. She looked at him with angry eyes "Never-mind that Zen, what were YOU thinking? Why did you take Izana's place?" Zen sat on his bed with her and sighed "Izana is needed back home, he is the first prince. He needs to become King and protect the people. I needed to be here near you, although that's proving harder than I imagined" Shirayuki's stomach squirmed in guilt as she remembered Zura's attempts at tormenting Zen. Zen grinned a little "there is another reason, Izana thinks he knows where there are books that can help you. They are old and he didn't understand them but he thinks you might. I wouldn't have a clue where to find them, that library is huge and unlike Izana, I have barely ever stepped foot in there" Shirayuki layed her head against his shoulder "I should go soon in case they find out i'm here" She stood and looked at Zen in confusion as he grabbed her wrist- just as he had done in the meadow "Wait". He stood and looked at her with a brooding look. Silently he pulled her close to him and held her tightly so he could whisper into her ears "your mine Shirayuki, I cant stand it any longer. I feel as though for every time he touched you, I need to touch you a thousand times to erase it" Shirayuki trembled in excitement but fought against her own desire "stop Zen, if were caught, he will kill you!" Zen squeezed her tighter "I don't care" He pulled her lips to his and kissed her fiercely. His pent up rage at Zura was disappearing with every touch of her skin and every kiss of her lips. She shivered in pleasure under his touch. He broke away from her breathlessly "you better go, before I make you stay forever" She giggled happily and headed for the window "no! don't go back out there!" She shook her head "it's ok, it's stopped raining".

The way back had been easier and she silently slipped back through her window and undressed in a hurry. This time she really was about to get a bath. She bathed quickly so that she could hurry and go to bed, she was exhausted and was looking forward to getting some rest. She left her washroom and looked around for her nightdress...there was nothing here? She stood with her towel wrapped around her in confusion _where was her clothes?_ She jumped as a hand appeared from behind her holding a nightgown "here you go, forgive me I didn't realise you were still in the bath...I have had your things moved to my room" Zura was stood behind her smiling kindly as Shirayuki took the gown away from him. She smiled as sweetly as she could "thank you, I will just go get changed" he shrugged his shoulders "you needn't be embarrassed we are to be married" Shirayuki nodded "yes I suppose that is true, however Zura even wives wish to have privacy you know" He laughed as though he was enjoying her banter "very well I shall wait outside" She gritted her teeth together as she fought against her frustration, so she was no longer allowed to have her own room?.

She walked next to Zura towards his room nervously. Why did she have a bad feeling? He opened the door for her and followed her in. The room was more of a living area with 3 more doors. He signalled for her to sit on the nearby sofa and then he sat next to her. He offered her some wine which she took but had no intention of drinking "you know Shirayuki, I have been thinking about that kiss all day, you really are an alluring woman" She once again offered him a smile but was fighting her anxiety... _did he know she went to Zen?_ He shuffled closer and leaned into her. She stood up trying to smile sweetly "May I go to bed? I am exhausted" His stare darkened in displeasure however he pointed to the door "thank you goodnight" she took a step towards the bedroom but stopped suddenly as she heard a bang erupt from the other door she threw it open and was paralysed. Zen was bound and gagged tightly, he was fighting against the restraints. Shirayuki went to ran to him but a hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her back "you deny me- your fiance a kiss. Yet you so willingly risked a life threatening drop off a ledge to go to him!" He pulled her away as she struggled against him kicking and screaming. He pulled her face to his "you know the thing that makes me so angry is that I cannot be angry with you, I only crave your touch more!" he went to force his lips onto hers as she fought back frantically. She grabbed for a nearby candlestick and hit him over the head as hard as she could. He fell down momentarily concussed and so she fled to Zen. She helped him up and tried undoing the bindings, with no luck. She un-gagged him "its ok, we need to go now!" Zura was stirring and he had screamed for guards so the door flew open sealing off their escape route "Shirauki ran for the window and opened it, she looked down into the black lake below _I hope its as deep as it looks!_ She pulled Zen up and without any paused for thought the two of them dived into the lake far below!

The drop was huge and it was likely she wouldn't survive, she knew that she did the right thing though. She could not live without Zen and Zura would have killed him. She looked into Zen's eyes so that they would be the last thing she would ever see. The wind had taken her breath away and so she struggled to gulp any air before embracing the black water that was about to engulf them both. She used any remaining air she had left to speak what she had not yet dare say out loud "I love you Zen!".

 _Very dramatic chapter this was! My heart has been pounding just writing it haha! Look forward to the next chapter where we will find out if they survived a huge plunge into a lake! At least if they can survive that they will finally be out of Zura's evil grasp! I promise to update soon bye for now!_


	13. Chapter 13

Shirayuki closed her eyes as the water painfully engulfed her. The iciness tightened around her chest as she fell deep below the freezing water. Her body ached and was numb from the cold but for now she had survived the impact. She struggled against the flow of water that was dragging her further into its depths; however the lack of air and the numbness of her body caused her strength to slowly disappear! She forced her eyes open to try to see anything through the black and murky water however the water stung her eyes and she couldn't keep it up. She spotted a glimpse of something silvery It was the moon glowing as it reflected from Zen's hair!

Zen was still bound and could not move. The cold water was filling up his lungs and he could no longer fight it! Was this it?! Did he really come this far to die and lose everything?! He felt his hands being pulled and worried that he might be pulled under. He felt gentle hands embrace him. Shirayuki had found him and was cutting away at the ropes with a jagged rock she had found. She was not strong enough to break them and Zen could see that she was starting to fade fast. With little strength he had left he managed to pull at the ropes and break them, Shirayuki may not have being able to cut them but she had managed to weaken them. Her eyes had closed and she was starting to sink. Zen reached for her and kicked to the surface as hard as he could. Finally he reached the bank at the other side. He carried Shirayuki and laid her down. Her skin was pale and her lips were turning blue. Immediately he lowered her head and blew air into her lungs. Please be ok! Please be ok!

She spluttered the water out of her lungs and coughed as she gulped in precious air. She threw her arms around Zen and hugged him in blissful relief.

Zen stood and helped her stand "what do we do now Zen?" he shook his head with a forlorn expression "I don't know. We can not return to Clarines- they will be watching out for us" He turned around and pointed towards the nearby forest "it will be warmer in there and there is food and shelter" Shirayuki nodded, she had lived in a forest most of her life she knew how to survive. She frowned at the cut on his head "Zen you're bleeding!" he shook his head and pointed "never mind that, besides so are you" she looked at her hand where the jagged rock had cut into it. She also noticed she had a large cut across her cheek, although it seemed as though they were mostly unharmed.

They headed deep into the forest, hoping to find a spot where they could light a fire without attracting any unwanted attention. Zen stopped eventually and nodded slightly "this should do, I will make a small fire and we will have to dry off and wait until its light" Shirayuki looked around "yes the trees are dense here there should still be some twigs and such around that the rain hasn't gotten to" she started gathering dry pieces of wood that they could burn and Zen looked around hoping to find something to help start the fire burning. Shirayuki giggled a little as she watched him play with two dry twigs hoping to start a fire. She smiled kindly and took them from him "here look, you need to do it faster and move your hands down, you're simply rubbing them together" Zen watched in fascination as the twigs caught fire "your amazing you know?" she found some large fallen branches and balanced them together so that she could hang their clothes to dry. Zen looked away as Shirayuki took her wet nightgown off and hung it up. She crouched down in a ball near the fire facing the opposite direction so that Zen could do the same. Shirayuki glanced out of the corner of her eye to see if it was ok to look, Zen noticed this and grinned "why Shirayuki, are you peeking?" her face glowed red and she shook her head furiously "of course not! I thought it was safe to look?" Zen crouched next to her in front of the fire and chuckled playfully "If it's you I don't mind" she lowered her head shyly and smiled a little "I wont say the same make sure you keep your eyes on the fire mister!" he laughed and pulled a fake pout "awww". She shook her head with a small laugh and shivered a little. Zen huddled closer next to her "here body heat will keep us warmer" Shirayuki knew this was true but still had to giggle at him "any excuse prince Zen" he shrugged his shoulders "the perfect excuse if you ask me!" Shirayuki checked on their clothes, it was relieving to find that they were dry already and were warm from the heat of the fire.

It had already gotten so late and they were both exhausted and so they laid back in the grass hoping to catch a little sleep before morning arrived. Shirayuki turned on to her side and watched Zen as he gazed up at the sky through the gaps in the trees "what are you thinking about Zen?" His eyes seemed far away as though he was deep in thought "I was just thinking about my brother...and clarines. I hope they are all ok" Shirayuki gazed at him sadly knowing that there was nothing she could do to help now. She could offer no words of comfort because she was as in the dark as he was and they just needed to put their faith in Izana. She laid down her head on Zen's chest and placed her hand on his heart. Somehow the sensation of its rhythmic beating against her hand soothed her, it told her they were both still alive and as long as they were alive and well there was still hope. Zen held her close to him and gazed back towards the stars "its strange, everything that's happened, it all seems so far away from us now. I'm camped out under the stars with a beautiful woman in my arms- I feel strangely happy considering" Shirayuki nuzzled into him in response, she knew exactly what he meant. Zen stroked Shirayuki's hair affectionately "by the way, I want to say something" Shirayuki lifted her head curiously "what is it?" Zen held her hand to his face and closed his eyes "I heard you, I heard what you said to me before we fell into the water and...I love you too!" Shirayuki fought the tears of joy that prickled at her eyes "I never thought I would get to live to hear your reply I am so happy!" Zen shook his head "Shirayuki I am the one who is happy, you have given me a bigger reason than ever to fight for something, I will fight to free Clarines from Zura, and I will fight to free you from him too! And not just because the mother tree asked me to, but so I know that you and I can live happily together without fear, you have always said chains aren't always needed, you have been bound by something and I want to be the one to unbind you forever!" Shirayuki smiled gently "Zen I am already free, I no longer need to play as Zura's fiance and you have responded to my feelings and no matter what happens now I know that my heart is my own! I have already been unbound by you" Zen grinned joyfully as he looked at the rising sun in the distance as it merged against the dark canvas set with shimmering stars. He remembered how beautiful she looked that night in her sparkling evening dress. In that instant for the first time ever he felt grateful that he was a prince, the rules were worth following if she was the reward! Feeling liberated he kissed the top of her head "No Shirayuki I have been unbound by you".


	14. Chapter 14

Zen awoke and looked up to the sun so that he could determine the time, his stomach twisted with anxiety as he realised something was off. The Sun's position suggested it was mid morning- yet the sky in the distance was still a fiery red, as though it was still only Dawn. He stood abruptly No! That sky is not the colour of dawn!...It's the colour of fire! He grabbed Shirayuki in a panic and pulled her by the hand. They ran to the edge of the forest and looked in horror at the flames that were engulfing Clarines in the distance! Shirayuki looked at Zen- who stood in despairing silence. She held his hand tightly and wiped her tears away "let's go Zen, they need us!" he nodded quietly "let's go!".

As they neared Clarines it became apparent just how terrible the situation was! Crowds of people were fleeing the flames- running into the safety of the forest. Shirayuki and Zen rushed through them so that they could head to the palace. Zen rushed around desperate to find any signs of his brother and Shirayuki also tried to look into the face of every passer-by so she could try and identify Izana...with no luck. They reached the Castle gates and were relieved to see that the castle was unharmed- the flames had not yet reached this far.

They ran around, but it was desolate! Zen frowned in concern _where are you brother!_ He turned abruptly on the spot as a crash erupted down the hall. The two of them sprinted towards where the crash had come from. The noise seemed to have come from a pile of plates that had been knocked over, Kiki was cursing as she stepped through the broken pieces. Zen rushed forward "Kiki! Where is my brother!" Her eyes widened as she spotted him in the doorway "Prince Zen! I am so sorry! Mitsuhide and I...we tried to protect him, but he was taken again!" She fell to her knees and blinked against her tears "We tried to stop them, but they captured Prince Izana and then Mitsuhide got caught..because he protected me!" Shirayuki knelt by her side and placed her hand on Kiki's shoulders though she shrugged her off coldly "please, don't touch me! You! You are the reason they came...what reason should you- a commoner have to be with Prince Zen! All you had to do was stay with Zura and we would all be safe!" Shirayuki stood up in stunned silence as Zen took a step towards Kiki "Kiki! You know nothing! Blaming Shirayuki will not change the past! She is no commoner either she is the true princess of Tanbarun, Zura came here not because of Shirayuki- but because of me!" Kiki lowered her head and began to weep uncontrollably "please forgive me prince Zen! I am weak! I couldn't save Mitsuhide or your brother! And now I am blindly assigning blame!" Zen held out his hand to her "it's ok Kiki. Do not cry anymore. I will save them- but I need your help!" she took his hand with a faint smile and stood up "of course your highness- I will do what ever you ask!" Zen looked at her seriously "We need to find a certain book, Izana knew where it was but he's not here!" Kiki grinned in excitement for a moment and smacked her forehead "ooooooh, maybe that's what he meant! Zen, before all this happened Izana told me and Mitsuhide to pass on a message to you when we could. He said 'tell Zen, it's on the island in the middle of the Lava" Zen looked up grinning "I see! come on!" He grabbed Shirayuki's hand and ran off towards the stairs "Zen, do you care to explain?" He looked back at her retaining a huge grin "Izana and I used to play a game when we were younger. There was a smaller room In the back of the Library, its floors are red and orange so we used to pretend it was Lava, We would climb on top of the shelves and jump from one to another and we would pretend that the circle shaped case in the middle was an Island- it was our goal and the first to reach it would win. Although, we never made it because it was too high. One day my Father caught us playing the game and was concerned we would fall and get hurt. He locked the room and we were never allowed in there anymore" Shirayuki nodded in understanding "The book is on top of the circular case?" Zen laughed a little "Izana and I were very competitive. He sneaked in one night and made the jump just so he could brag about it. He mentioned that nothing much was up there just an old book! It must be the same book!".

They ran into the Library and through the door at the other end. Shirayuki looked at the floor- it really did look like Lava! She was reminded of the furiously burning flames that were eating away outside and blinked away more tears as Zen walked over to a smaller book case and climbed up. He jumped with ease from one case to another- towards the middle of the room. Shirayuki looked in disbelief at the circular case- it really was high!

Zen looked at the tall case and felt childish delight worm its way in- he was finally going to make this jump! He took a few steps back before taking a running jump. His fingers grasped the edge as he dangled there a few seconds looking down at the 'Lava' below him. He smiled in appreciation _hold on brother we will save you!_ He pulled himself up and walked towards the centre of the case. There was a large and tattered ancient- looking book resting on a stand. He opened it and frowned how is this meant to help? Izana was right its gibberish! He shook his head it may be gibberish to him, but Shirayuki might know what it says! He grabbed the book and jumped off the case- landing on his feet next to her with a boyish grin "here you go my princess" Kiki looked the other way with a firm face and Shirayuki did not miss this- did she like Zen? She shrugged this unpleasant thought away and opened the ancient tome with anticipation.

Zen watched quietly as her eyes scanned the pages quickly, with each page that she read, her eyes would grow larger and more excited. She stopped on a page and seemed to read it more carefully than any other "this is it! I can use this to help grow the mother tree!".


	15. Chapter 15

Shirayuki ran through the castle behind Zen and Kiki with the heavy tome underneath her arms. She glanced out of a nearby window and was relieved to see that the flames were dying down. She stopped and caught her breath "Zen, what are we going to do now?" He walked over to the window and looked out sadly "I'm not sure, we need to get my brother back...not to mention the people of Clarines fled into the forest- they will need help. The damage to the Kingdom doesn't seem too bad. Once we have taken care of Zura we can focus on rebuilding" Kiki nodded with a proud smile "yes Zen I agree, we are not in a position to be able to rescue Prince Izana and Mitsuhide right now so we shall focus on aiding the people- their spirits are low at the moment yet if they see you in person helping them it will give them confidence in you as well as hope" Shirayuki stepped forward holding her acorn "I have an idea, People can not return to their homes until Zura is taken care of and their homes are rebuilt. There will be injured people out there too. I can use the knowledge in this book to replant Mother Tree and even whilst she has not yet grown, when her roots touch the soil I can re-establish the protection she once offered to the forest I lived in. We can build a temporary village inside the protection and build up our strength to rescue Izana and both of the kingdoms...I realise it will be hard work, but if we can get the people to unite and work together...it could work couldn't it?" Zen beamed happily at her and pulled her close to him in an embrace. Kiki scoffed and muttered under her breath "sounds like a pipe dream to me" Shirayuki broke away from Zen and frowned in confusion towards her "excuse me?" Kiki shook her head and sighed in exasperation "I said it sounds like a pipe dream- lets go live in a magical forest and unite the people and _live happily ever after!"_ she laughed unpleasantly "it sounds like you plan to hide in a new magical forest and run away from Zura like you have all this time!" Shirayuki's mouth fell open in unpleasant shock "I was a child who was taken into that forest and told never to leave! I did not run from anything! All I am suggesting now is a temporary location to offer safety to those in need!" Kiki stepped forward clutching her fists in frustration "if it was so simple to unite the people and get them to work together don't you think Prince Izana would have done it already?" Zen stood helplessly as the two women argued back and fourth _what could he do?_ Shirayuki shook her head sadly "Kiki, I do not know what I have done to earn such hatred from you. I hope we can move past it though, as for uniting the people, Izana said himself that an outside threat may be enough to help unite the people to fight a common enemy!" Kiki laughed an unpleasantly loud laugh "oh Izana told you as much did he? I had no idea you were that close to him too!" Zen stood forward and held his hand out to silence her "you have said enough Kiki! Please round up any one who is left and bring what ever materials you can carry into the forest so that we can establish a temporary village there" She lowered her head silently and left. Zen's face became strange and somehow sad "something is wrong! Kiki is one of my best friends and she could never say those kind of things to anyone!" Shirayuki looked sadly in the direction in which Kiki had left "I too think something is strange, I can see her kind soul- she cares deeply for others. I can tell she is brave and loyal too. I think she is under a spell!" Zen's face became sad and worried "that would explain a lot, can you tell what kind of spell?" Shirayuki frowned "I do not know enough to determine the exact spell however it seems to be something to cause her to act jealously. Her anger seems to be directed towards me- especially regarding my relationship with you...has she ever expressed an interest in you?" Zen shook his head as he frowned in concentration "she has always been a little too good at her job- but never anything to suggest she is interested in me" Shirayuki nodded with a faint smile "I believe Zura still wishes to toy with us. I think he has made her believe she is in love with you to cause a rift between us- by making it seem like you have other relationships or something of the sort" Zen punched his fist against a nearby wall in frustration "how childish! He isn't satisfied with burning my Kingdom, he also needs to toy with our emotions!" They set off from the castle towards the forest carrying as many useful items as they could manage.

The forest that ran between Clarines and Tanbarun was vast and so they had to wander around a little until they found a large gathering of people. They were huddled together like lost sheep who were oblivious to the bad wolf who was waiting to strike. Zen was to be their shepherd who would lead them to a greener pasture- a better future. Shirayuki hovered next to him quietly as he entered the gathering "My people, I am so very sorry for the cruel attack we have suffered on our home. I want to be honest with you all because I believe that if we can unite and work together we have a chance to overcome the evil that threatens us all!" A man from the crowd limped forward nursing a burn on his leg "Tanbarun have attacked us! They have declared War on us!" Zen rushed forward holding his hands up pleadingly "No! No! Tanbarun is not to blame! Zura is not who you think he is! King Zura is under the control of an evil sorcerer- so was his father and many others" the reaction he received was not expected. People began to panic and and had before long started arguing and fighting. Shirayuki looked at Zen uncertainly before stepping forward "Please everyone remain calm! My name is Shirayuki and I am the true princess of Tanbarun. The sorcerer drove my family from their home and killed my parents. Ever since I have been living under magic protection from a certain source. We have a plan if you will listen?" The people of Clarines looked at her in interest mixed with a little doubt, however they remained silent so that Zen could continue "It is too dangerous to return to Clarines right now, so I will ask you to unite and help each other so that we might establish a temporary village here. The protection that Shirayuki mentioned earlier, we think we can use it here to keep us all safe while we find a way to defeat this evil. My people, I ask you- will you help me save our Kingdom?" his words were met with applause as they all cheered. The same man from earlier stepped forward and pointed at Shirayuki "you're the princess of Tanbarun? do you intend to bring the two kingdoms together?" Shirayuki looked at Zen with a beautiful smile "I am Prince Zen's fiance, upon defeating the sorcerer we intend to marry and forge a strong relationship between our two Kingdoms, however how can we unite the Kingdoms when one of those Kingdoms is not whole? If you all work together to build a place we can live safely until the Kingdom of Clarines can be restored, then I shall provide the key to your safety!"

The people had reacted positively to Zen's words and also to Shirayuki's, they had formed groups and designated tasks to each of them. Within only days makeshift houses and huts had been built. Shirayuki had found the perfect spot with healthy soil to plant the acorn. She could feel the strength of the Mother Tree growing once more as her roots planted their way deeper and deeper into the earth. Shirayuki buried herself into the book hoping to learn all she could from it.

Zen had taken lead in multiple trips to the castle to secure more needed items and food. Shirayuki noted that Kiki had disappeared altogether and so decided to question him "I have sent her to Tanbarun under cover- we need to learn what ever we can" Shirayuki had a bad feeling regarding this _isn't she still under a spell?_ She voiced her concerns in this matter "it's ok Shirayuki, her spell is only a love spell correct? So it shouldn't have any affect on her orders that I have given her...have you had any luck regarding how to lift it?" she sighed heavily, she had learned a small amount of the Mother Tree's powers and did not know nearly enough to be able to fully understand the book, and yet the tasks kept mounting up. She had yet to attempt to form the protection spell, lifting the spell on Kiki, something to unfuse the sorcerer from his victims and also something that might save the victims. Not to mention she was also assisting in the make shift hospital to treat the injured. Zen put his hand around her and kissed her head "thank you Shirayuki, you have taken on a great deal for the sake of our Kingdoms and you helped unite the people towards a comon goal! My father and Izana had struggled with this for a while now" Shirayuki returned his kiss in appreciation "you never did tell me what happened to split the people in the first place" Zen looked down with an air of sadness "our kingdom doesn't work the same way as others. The next heir isn't automatically the one who is the oldest. It goes on who is better suited- who is the most motivated or smartest or strongest. The Kingdom never agrees on who is crowned. My father was deemed to be more suitable as King by my grandfather yet a lot of people preferred his brother. The same holds true for me and my brother. I have more experience in military operations and in battle whereas Izana is more of a bookworm and is wise, obviously based on who you are, your opinion on who would be best to rule will differ" she could see why this would be a valid way to pick the next ruler, it made sense that the most suitable ruler may not simply be the oldest sibling, yet it did seem to be a major concern that the Kingdom did not always agree. Zen smiled brightly "you are incredible though, you told them that I would be marrying you and therefore becoming King in a different Kingdom, with this they were satisfied that Izana is going to become King of Clarines and I of Tanbarun- the two Kingdoms shall be joined together and therefore it doesn't matter who is to be King! I take it you accept my 'lousy' proposal then?" Shirayuki pushed him playfully "no way! I am simply requesting a 'do-over'!".

Their playful banter was cut short as gasps and panicked screams erupted from the people. Shirayuki and Zen rushed over to see what had happened. Zen took a hesitant step forward holding him arm out protectively in front of Shirayuki- who pushed it away and ran past him carelessly "Ellie! What are you doing here?!" Ellie's face was flushed "Princess! Please you must help him!" Shirayuki looked at the weak man under her arm before looking questioningly at Ellie "Ellie! That is Zura! What is going on?" Ellie fell to her knees in exhaustion as she set him down "he is no longer fused to the sorcerer, but he is weak!" Shirayuki knelt next to Zura in concern "what happened?!" He looked up to her and lowered his head with a pained expression. When he spoke his voice was faint "Shirayuki I am so glad your're safe, there has been so much I have wanted to say to you but couldn't! Please forgive me I was aware of my actions but unable to stop myself!" Shirayuki shook her head smiling gently "I do not blame you Zura" she helped Ellie move him into the hospital where he could rest but before she left he held up his hand "wait! The sorcerer is still alive, he left my body and entered another because if he remains fused to a body when it dies, he dies too!" Shirayuki was interested by this fact _could it be used to stop him?_ "tell me Zura, who has he fused to now?" she had a feeling she already knew the answer but that did not make it easier to hear. He closed his eyes and sighed with weariness "Prince Izana".


	16. Chapter 16

Shirayuki's heart sank as she absorbed this news Izana is the sorcerer now?! She turned around to see Zen stood in the doorway with a pained look "Zen, wait!" he had turned around silently and marched off and Shirayuki's knew where to. She ran after him and held her hand out to stop him "please step aside Shirayuki, I have to go save my brother!" Shirayuki blinked back the burning tears "we will save him Zen! We will! But please, wait a little while before rushing to him! Zura mentioned that if the host body dies whilst the sorcerer is still fused to it so will he!" Zen grabbed her by both shoulders "have you even thought through what that means! We would need someone to die for that to happen! Not to mention, how would we even persuade him to swap bodies?"

Shirayuki wrapped her arms around him in desperation and held him close "Please, stay a little longer I swear I will find a way to save Izana! I just don't want you to run off to your death! He understands you, he knows you will go to Izana and he will kill you! He still has time! While his body is a host the sorcerer will not kill him!" Zen sighed sadly and lowered his head onto the top of her's as he embraced her "I just can not stand the thought of him using my brother as a host!" Shirayuki sniffled and hid her tears in his chest "I know, I promise you I will not stop until I find a way to save him. I just need to find a way to help Mother grow quickly but before that I need to try and get the protection spell working- otherwise the sorcerer could attack at any moment now that he is in a new body he will be strong again!"

Zen released her and took a step back so he could look at her from arms length "I just wish it didn't have to all fall on your shoulders!" She shook her head gently and held his hand "I have you- I can do anything. Zen, the people here need you, look how you have managed to bring them together- look at what you have accomplished in a few short days!" he shook his head in disagreement "no Shirayuki- look at what we have accomplished in a few days! I could not have done this if it weren't for you!" smiling warmly, he turned around and started walking back "ok, I trust you. I know you will find a way" She nodded in relief and ran to his side so that they could head back together.

Shirayuki entered her hut and shut the door. She sat down on the camping bed and opened the large book. Magic had a language of its own, Shirayuki had learnt a little of it so that she could help the Mother Tree with her duties. She already knew how to do the protection spell, but she did not have enough power. She rifled through the book until she found a page of interest. She could make out only 3 words in this spell and along with the images, she realised that this could be what she needed! She ran outside to where she had planted the acorn. Shirayuki sat down and spread her fingers onto the earth around the Acorn, she could feel the warmth of it underneath her. Closing her eyes tightly, she imagined passing something important over to someone. She mouthed the words and pushed the warmth out of her body and into the roots of the new Mother Tree.

Zen watched sadly as Shirayuki rushed off towards the acorn why doesn't she ask anyone for help? He felt strangely worried, so he followed her down the path to the 'acorn garden' where they had planted the mother tree. He approached quietly so he didn't disturb her but so he could watch and help if she needed it. He watched her spread her hands on the ground and slightly bury her finger tips in the soil. Her hands began glowing as she chanted words, she did this for a few more minutes until Zen felt a familiar warmth spread through him she did it! He stepped forward grinning with his newfound hope however it seemed as though something was wrong! Shirayuki swayed a little on the spot, he wondered if she was simply tired, however once he approached closer she fell forward and collapsed on the floor"Shirayuki! what's wrong?" Zen picked her up and cradled her in his arms. Upon closer inspection it appeared as though she had simply fallen asleep. He held her close to him silently thanking her for her hard work. He noticed a small plant shoot steadily growing through the earth- although though it had grown a considerable amount, Zen knew it was not big enough just yet _I thought she was trying to do the protection spell? Why has the tree grown so fast too?_

He carried her to her bed and sat beside her. It was a few hours until she opened her eyes but even then she still seemed faint. Zen bent down and kissed her cheek gently "are you ok?". Shirayuki nodded with a huge smile, she had opened her eyes to see that Zen was sat right next to her. She was determined to succeed just for this reason! To be able to wake up to see Zen every morning for the rest of her life seemed like a dream come true. No matter what, she knew she must find a way to defeat the sorcerer. Zen looked at her with worried eyes "what happened? Why did you pass out?" Shirayuki picked up the book and opened it "I found this spell here- its a spell to lend your strength to nature to help it recover! I passed a little of my strength to Mother so that she could grow quickly- did it work?" Zen remembered the little shoot and laughed awkwardly "erm...well it technically worked. It did grow, but only a little" Shirayuki lowered her head and sighed in dismay "I knew it, I wasn't strong enough" Zen frowned in concentration "Shirayuki? Did you try to give as much strength as you could to grow her as fast as possible?" she looked down in guilt _he will be mad at me if he knew that I really did try to give a lot of my strength all at once!_ This is what she thought however she could never lie to him "yes, I tried to give as much strength as possible to her so that she could offer her protection once again, I know the spell but I can't keep it going for an unlimited amount of time like she can, she has her roots in the ground so she has an unlimited supply of strength from the earth. I thought if I could get her to grow immediately It would solve everything!" Zen looked at the book, it still made no sense to him but maybe the answer was more simple " Shirayuki, I don't know anything about magic or spells but do you think that if you could borrow a little bit of strength from everyone at once you could do the spell? You don't always have to do things alone you know?" her eyes widened in surprise and she returned to look at the book "here! The next page looks like a spell to do the opposite! I wonder why I didn't stop to look at it before! With this I can borrow everyone's energy and give it to Mother tree to accelerate her growth!" she threw her arms around Zen in excitement as he laughed "wow, do you really think it will work? I am normally no good at this stuff like my brother is".

Zen had gathered everyone together near the acorn immediately so that they could try and restore the Mother Tree "everyone, we need your help. Shirayuki needs to borrow your strength so that she can provide the protection she spoke about, it may leave you all a little sleepy afterwards- but no harm will come to you. She is not strong enough alone to do what needs to be done- will you all help?" Everyone looked from one to another in uncertainty until someone stepped forward. Zen noticed it was Ellie who had brought Zura "I will help however I can princess! Zura nodded with a huge air of determination "I have to atone for my actions and so please let me help you" Shirayuki shook her head "no Zura! You have nothing to atone for! Besides, even if you did help, you have no strength left- you would die!" He walked towards her and hugged her warmly "I am dying anyway, my strength is leaving me because I was fused to that sorcerer for too long. Please allow me to use up the last of my life to help!" Shirayuki shook her head fiercely "no! I may find a way to save you- the Mother Tree may know of a way!" he lowered his head with a small smile "very well Shirayuki, I shall respect your wishes. I will stay here and watch in case you do need my help with anything" she nodded and face everyone else "please do not be afraid, I am simply borrowing a little of your energy to perform a spell, it will return to you quickly as the more people who lend me their strength, the less energy I will need to borrow from each of you" Zen stepped forward with Ellie and soon after others followed- their faces now cleared of any doubt. Shirayuki asked them all to stand together and hold hands around the area that the acorn had been buried. She joined Zen and held his hand. She walked towards the acorn and once again spread her hands over the earth. As she began chanting the words she gasped as a huge wave of energy flowed into her, she could not store it in her body-there was too much. She made a channel through her body and allowed it to flow directly to the acorn. She watched in breathless anticipation as the small shoots started to grow and grow. It had grown about 2 feet tall, however it was at this point it started to stop!Shirayuki's eyes stung as bitter disappointment set in she screamed out loud painfully "no! There still is not enough energy! If I use any more the people could die! What do I do? Please, please Mother, grow!" the supply of energy was slowing and the tree's growth had stopped. She dug her hands into the ground deeper and deeper desperately. Just a little more! If I can get her to grow a little more she will be big enough to use the energy from the earth to do the rest! Her head shot up as someone screamed, just as she did this she felt a new flow of energy from the circle. Zura had dived into the circle and had clamped his hand onto Shirayuki's. Ellie was sobbing "please, please don't do this Zura!" Shirayuki looked at him knowing that he had already given her the energy left in his body, before she could stop him, it was too late! The Mother tree grew and grew but Zura had fallen.

Shirayuki picked his head up and laid it in her lap, she wiped her tears and put her forehead to his "why Zura? Why couldn't you believe that I would find a way to help you?" he smiled sadly as his own tears glistened in the corners of his eyes "I do believe that you will find a way, but you must use it to save prince Izana, you know that if I didn't help you, that tree would not have grown. These people would not be able to return home. Zen would not get his brother back...need I go on? Shirayuki, I am sorry that I could not be the cousin you deserve. I wish I could have been strong enough to stop that sorcerer! But I am glad I got to see you as myself in my last moments" his speech was faltering and his eyes had become heavy. Shirayuki stroked his hair trying to comfort him as he welcomed in the eternal sleep that was to follow his sacrifice "Zura, I will make sure no one ever forgets what you have done! I promise I will stop all this!" he smiled faintly with closed eyes "I believe you. I have a final request, please take care of Tanbarun!"

Shirayuki threw her arms around him and cradled him as she cried, she cried for the loss of a fellow human, she cried for the loss of her cousin but most of all she cried for the time that had been stolen away from them because of the sorcerer. He had stolen her family away from her and this was a painful reminder of what she could have had- she could have grown to know Zura as her cousin and as a friend.

 _Okay so I have gotten way too carried away writing this story haha, I have also finished writing the next chapter (I'm just checking it now and then will upload!) and lots are happening in it eeeeek! So I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and I hope you like chapter 17 too! bye for now_


	17. Chapter 17

In that moment that she was filled with grief, she felt a gentle hand reach for her. Her mind became blank as a lost memory come to the surface of her mind. She was crouched in the corner of the garden with her hands over her eyes "eight, nine and ten! Here I come Zura!" she walked around the garden keeping a look out- she knew he would be here somewhere, Zura always hid in easy places for her to find him- Zura was kind that way. She heard a giggle from above "up here!" she looked up and pointed at him as he dangled from a tree "Zura! You're not supposed to tell me where you are you know?" he jumped down and laughed "Well it didn't look like you would ever find me tee hee!" Shirayuki crossed her arms and pouted "one day I will!".

The scene changed, she was playing in her playroom when there was a knock. Zura opened the door grinning as he ran in "guess what Shiri!" she stood up with interest "what is it Zura?" he grabbed her hand and pulled her "I have a surprise for you" she followed him through the door and ran down the hallway. She stopped and laughed excitedly "prince Izana!" Prince Izana was older than her but he was always so nice and gentle! She screwed her face up as Prince Zen stepped out from behind him and stuck his tongue out at her "aww did you have to bring _him?"_ Izana laughed and patted her head gently "haha play nicely you two!" He walked away to join his parents and left the three of them together. Zura folded his arms "come one Shiri, lets go...I suppose we better take him along too" Zen clenched his fists "what is your problem?" Zura shrugged his shoulders "I just don't like you! You always pick on Shiri" Zen's face turned pink "I do not!" Zura stuck his tongue out "don't lie Zee, you do too!" Zen blinked "Zee?" Zura nodded "if you want to play with us you have to have a cool nickname" Zen grinned "does that mean I can play with you? Also what's your nickname?" Zura grinned and patted Shirayuki's head "Shiryauki is Shiri and mine is..." he looked at her "I dunno, what is mine Shiri?" she laughed playfully "It's Zuzu!" he shook his head quickly "yuck! Nah mine is Zu! and you're Zee... _if_ we let you play with us!" Zen frowned "so _are_ you going to let me play with you?" Zura nodded with a grin "sure, if you tell us why you are always picking on Shiri!" Zen looked down with flushed cheeks "dad says I have to be nice to Shiray...I mean Shiri, because she is to be my wife! I don't know what that means...so I asked my friend Mitsuhide, he says that they are mean ladies who boss you around and don't let you have fun" Shirayuki blinked in confusion "It's ok Zee, I don't know what that means either but I won't be mean, I promise! We can have lots of fun together I wouldn't stop you having fun ever!" She smiled and held out her hand. Zen smiled widely and took it "Okay deal! So what shall we play!"

Shirayuki's tears flowed endlessly down her face as an aching joy and sadness set in. _How could I forget that? Why did I forget that?!_ She cried painful tears "Zu! please Zu! Don't die! I am sorry I forgot you! She became aware of a gentle hand still touching her. She looked up through her tearful eyes "mother!" The Mother Tree had fully grown and had once again left the earth in the shape of a woman "why have you left the earth again!" The Mother Tree bent down and embraced her lovingly "I come to you in the form of a Mother when you need me, Shirayuki right now your heart is grieving and you need your mother" Shirayuki wiped her eyes as she battled the joyful, as well as the pain filled tears that would not end "I remembered him! I remember everything!" Mother Tree nodded with a guilty expression "please forgive me, you often spoke about your friends and your home. You were becoming so miserable tied to the forest and I feared that one day you would risk leaving, so I made the decision to seal away your memories of the outside world. I told you that came to me as a baby so that you would not question why you could not remember your past but the truth is you were older. That young man sacrificed himself in order to save everyone, I thought it would be dishonourable to let him die without you knowing how much he meant to you" Shirayuki looked at Zen who was stood looking at her with a strange face _did he not remember too?_ She looked back at her mother who nodded "yes I also erased everyone else's memory of you so that they would not come looking for you, they all will too remember you now too" Shirayuki frowned "Ellie? Ellie remembered me" she looked around for Ellie but failed to find her _where is she?_ Mother Tree frowned deeply "that's impossible, no one should have been able to remember you- something is not right"

The hairs stood on Shirayuki's neck as she heard a cruel laugh. She turned around to see someone stood at the back- it was Izana! He stepped forward clapping "well done Shirayuki, I never thought it was possible for you to resurrect the Mother Tree" Shorayuki's blood ran cold, Izana was stood in front of her but his voice and face were cruel- it was not him, he really was fused with the Sorcerer!

"I have a confession, Ellie was my own creation. After all of my wives took their own life I decided I would make a loyal woman to be my wife, I had lost all hopes of finding the beautiful red haired princess and so I had intended to make Ellie my wife- until I finally found you Shirayuki! Ellie was still useful though, I simply needed her to make friends with you, then she could keep an eye on you and also keep you under control. I allowed her to come here with Zura to gain your trust and to spy on you once again. Even though you have resurrected the Mother Tree I have penetrated her protection because the spell she cast the moment she awoke- I was already in it and so her protection extends to me too! I know what you know about me and I knew about your plan all along- it was just fun to play along for a little while" Mother Tree stepped forward "please, please stop this Lythias!" Shirayuki's eyes widened _Lythias? That was the sorcerer's name? Finally I know who 'he' is now!_ The Mother Tree's face was sad yet gentle "You do not need to do this anymore. I am still here, I have always been your wife and your family!" he narrowed his eyes at her "No! You betrayed me! You locked me out of your forest and so I knew you no longer held me in your heart Elliana" Mother Tree smiled sadly "No, _you_ no longer held me in your heart. You tried to kidnap our daughter in law to keep her for yourself. You hurt our son and his family deeply and have been committing sins ever since, I know the man who I love is still in there as is his love for me" Lythias scowled at her "I do not love you" Mother Tree smiled sadly "if you do not love me, why did you name your creation after me? Was it not because you wanted to create me anew?" Lythias' face grew angry "I love Elliana- not you! You are a tree!" She shook her head sadly "yes, in an attempt to save my life you fused me to a tree, nonetheless however, I am still Elliana- I am still your Ellie! He laughed loudly with agitation "I no longer care, all I care about is Shirayuki- come with me now and I shall not hurt any of these people- they may return to their homes and I will let Prince Zen become King of Clarines- seeing as his brother is 'occupied' so to speak" Zen stepped forward with rage, however Mother Tree held her hand out "I will take care of this!" with a sweep of her hands she rose a large thorny wall around them all "you can not break this wall Lythias, you know that- you made this spell" He laughed coldly "yes Elliana, I taught you all you know and so what makes you think I can not break down this wall?" She shook her head in pity "because you know as well as I that as long as I have a direct connection to the earth I have limitless power- whereas, whilst your fused to someone you are limited to their level of strength- isn't that why they die so quickly? You are using magic to invade them yet their bodies are not strong enough to withstand it. If you were to try and duel me with our magic you know you would only end up killing your host and therefore would have to jump back to your original body or to another or you too would die! We both know you can't return to your own body and no matter who you jumped to next- none of them are strong enough for you to use to fight me!" Lythias' face was that of pure, hot anger "you helped our son lock me away! I finally found a way to become immortal and you locked me up! I was a prisoner in your forest for hundreds of years! When I finally managed to jump bodies and escape, you locked me out so I could not be free and then you allowed my body to be destroyed along with the forest when you died!" The mother tree shook her head sadly "I know it seems as though I have betrayed you, but it was you who caused all this, you did not become immortal! You were stealing the strength from others to prolong your own life- you kill so many that you were able to live for a huge amount of time! Please Lythias, it is not too late to atone, give back the prince and join me. We can be together like in the old days and we can help watch over and protect both nature and the people together!" He laughed and shook his head then looked at Shirayuki "This is a pointless conversation, I admit I can not breach this wall, so I will leave for now. Just hold on my dear, I shall return for you and I will taste some more of your _delicious_ kisses!"

Zen ran forward "please wait! Please return my brother!" Lythias vanished ignoring his pleas. Shirayuki ran to him "I am sorry Zen, we couldn't get Izana back this time" she remembered how fond she had been of Izana when she was a child and her own heart ached in sadness "it's ok Shiri, I still believe in you- especially now you have your mother back!" Shirayuki smiled despite herself "Shiri? so you remembered too? I can't believe that we forgot all of that!" Zen laughed somewhat "Yes, I can't believe that our fathers actually arranged for us to be married! It's hard to believe that we didn't like each other much as children too! I guess I have Mitsuhide to blame for that!" Shirayuki's smile fell from her face as a new wave of anxiety set in _where was Kiki?_ She looked at Zen seriously "Zen, shouldn't Kiki have been able to warn us about all of this? Surely if she was keeping a look out on things in Tanbarun she would have known Izan...I mean Lythias was coming here?" He frowned and stood up "you are right! There is no way she wouldn't have known. I just hope she's ok!"

 _ok so there was a lot of new information and answers in this chapter and I hope its not information overload haha. I hope you have all enjoyed the story so far and look forward to the next chapter- which i will update soon! I would love to hear your thoughts so please let me know what you think. Bye for now!_


	18. Chapter 18

Shirayuki was sat beside Zura. Mother Tree had preserved his body in resin from her tree until he could be returned home to receive a proper burial. She looked sadly into Zura's sleeping face. More and more memories had been flooding back from her childhood, yet it only made it more painful to say goodbye. Zen watched sadly as tears silently fell from Shirayuki's eyes. He approached her and placed a careful hand on her shoulder. She sniffed and held his hand to her cheeks "it seems too cruel that we were all friends and yet when we were finally reunited, we had no memory of it. I can remember the fun times we had as children, my heart aches for it to be that time again!" There was a knock at the door and Zen looked up "Moth…I mean Elliana?" she smiled and entered "Zen I think I overheard that someone was looking for you" Zen smiled and nodded _she wants to be alone with Shiri right now._

Shirayuki smiled as her mother approached and sat next to her- extending an arm for comfort "I am very sorry Shirayuki, I may have acted rashly when I sealed away your memories of them. I have only made it harder on you now. I just wanted you to be safe!" Shirayuki wished dearly that her mother hadn't erased her memories; however she could never hate her for it. All the time she had been sat with Zura she had been remembering various chapters throughout her life- up until the night it had all been taken away.

It was late, Shirayuki had gone to bed but she wasn't sleepy. She kept her eyes closed as her mother and father kissed her good night but once they left she would get up and sneak into Zu's room. She listened out for her door closing and then threw the covers back _honestly! Why do I even need a bedtime anyway? I am 16!_ She looked up as the door opened and smiled widely as Zu slipped in "hehe guess what Shiri? I snuck us some midnight snacks" he threw all sorts of sweets onto the bed and sat down "I wonder when Zee will come again. It has been a while now since he last came. I overheard my dad saying to my mum that your dad has fallen out with Zee's dad" Shirayuki looked down sadly "mum says that Dad has been acting weir d lately and all they do is argue. I overheard a guard bad mouthing him the other day…" she fell quiet and walked over to the window "Zu, the King of Clarines is here! Look it's his carriage! I wonder if Zee will be here too!" he jumped off the bed and hurried to the window "what is he doing here so late? Hey look it's your mum!" Something weird was definitely going on _why is mother talking to the King alone? Where is dad?_ Zura quietly unlocked the balcony doors and crept outside to see if he could hear anything and Shirayuki followed him. They sat low so that they could not been seen and listened intently "I can't believe it! You know how to do it?" She heard the king respond "only you are strong enough, no one else has the strength to do it; Magic no longer exists in our society and so not many have enough energy. I have the book of spells that has been handed down in my family-it is probably the only genuine spell book that is left- but only you can do it!" Zura frowned at Shirayuki "what are they talking about? It makes no sense!" Shirayuki shrugged and stood up "come on lets go back in, they have gone inside now".

They pondered over the conversation for a while but still had no clue what it could have meant. The door opened suddenly and one of the guards walked in with a strange look on his face. Zura stood up angrily "This is the princess' bedroom- why have you come in uninvited?" the guard ignored him and looked at Shirayuki "princess you need to come with me now! I will take you to safety!" Zu stood in front of her "on who's orders are you to take her anywhere?" he frowned "I am acting on orders of the King to take her to safety!" Zu eyed him suspiciously "something is not right! I will come with you" The guard flew forward with his sword but Zura was quicker and managed to disarm him "Shiri, run!" she shook her head "no! What about you?" he laughed arrogantly "don't worry about me it will take more than one stupid guard to bring me down, now run- find your parents!" she nodded and ran past the guard who was now unable to get past Zura. Her heart was beating so fast and loud that she couldn't even hear her own thoughts. She stopped to catch her breath and looked around- _what's going on? Where are mum and dad?_ She looked around a little and headed off towards her dad's study- maybe they were there with the King of Clarines?

She was running as fast as she could round the corner, until she ran head first into her mother "ow, Mum! What's wrong! Why are you both hurt?!" She grabbed Shirayuki and pulled her "come on we have to go-now!" She looked in concern as both of her parents limped along with several wounds. Shirayuki tried to support both of her parents but they were too heavy "mum, I can't leave yet! Zura is still here! He saved me" her father shook his head "Zura is a capable young man, don't worry he will find his parents and join us later but for now we need to escape"

They fled into the forest and carried on running "Are we going to Clarines?" Shirayuki's heart lightened as she thought of Zen. Her father fell to his knee's "you two will have to escape without me, my wounds are worse than I thought" Shirayuki pulled at him "Daddy please, please get up! We are nearly there!" Shirayuki looked at her mother desperately "what is going on? Why has this happened? Please Mama, please save Daddy!" she became overwhelmed and began to cry hysterically. Her mother looked at her with sad eyes and raised her hand and it glowed brightly "I am sorry Shirayuki please sleep for now until this is over". She tried fighting against the sleep that was forcing its way over her- with no luck. She guessed it was at this point they found the mother tree.

Tears prickled at her eyes "the last time I saw Zura before all of this, he saved my life. I couldn't even do the same for him…Isn't there anything we can do?" Elliana shook her head slowly "I am sorry my dear, as sad as it is I can't help him. It was because Lythias refused to accept my death in the first place that all this happened. Once we die we are at peace and nothing should interfere with that. Leave him to rest in peace now Shirayuki. These people need you, you can do nothing to change his fate now but you can help change the uncertain fate of those poor souls outside"

It had been a man called Mythan who had sent for Zen "Prince Zen, some men have returned from Tanbarun, Kiki has disappeared and no one can find her" Zen lowered his head with frustration _how many more will he take from me?_ Everything was getting too much! Shirayuki was grieving Zu's death, Zen was trying to figure out a way to save his brother and now not only does he have Mitsuhide, he also most definitely had Kiki! The protection spell had failed as Lythias had already been inside when It was cast- _what do we do now?_ Mythan stood waiting for Zen's orders but he wasn't sure he had any to give! He turned away in low spirits "Prince Zen?" He shook his head and walked off without a response. _We can't win against him; all we can do is hide!_ His heart ached as he thought of Shirayuki and the future he so desperately wanted with her, _I will give these people the future they deserve- no matter what becomes of me!_ Without a final glance he walked away with his mind made up.

Shirayuki finally left Zura's side, she was going to return to the book and immerse herself within it with Elliana. She had inherited her mother's natural talent and so she knew she could become stronger and learn more under Elliana's guidance. Eventually she knew she would find a way to stop Lythias once and for all! She looked around to find Zen so that she could thank him for his support. Mythan ran over to her "Princess!" she smiled warmly "hello Mythan, is everything ok?" he shook his head "I simply informed Prince Zen that Kiki has disappeared and he left without another word!" Shirayuki's heart faltered for a second then resumed beating at an abnormal rate, she had managed to stop him going to Lythias once before! _I don't know if I can do it again!_ She took a step forward "are you going to him?" Elliana was stood behind her "yes, I need to stop him before he gets himself killed!" Elliana took a step forward "these people need you here" Shirayuki walked over to her and hugged her tightly "through all of this I never stopped to tell you how much I missed you and how glad I am your back, please watch over these people for me- until I come back with everyone!" Elliana watched with pride as Shirayuki set off to find Zen "Good Luck!"

Zen had made his way to the castle that he and Shirayuki had escaped from not too long ago, in Shirayuki's case she had been forced to flee from here twice and Zen wanted to ensure she would never have to run or hide again. He walked up the steps, he was concerned that the guards did not question him or try and stop his access _Lythias is expecting me._ He walked into the throne room and saw the face of his brother smile with uncharacteristic arrogance "I knew you would come Prince Zen, you have already shown to me the kind of man you are and how much you care for your brother; I take it that is why you're here?" Zen nodded darkly and fell to his knees "Please, just as before- take me instead" Lythias stood and approached Zen slowly but stopped as a loud shriek echoed around the hall "No! Zen please no!" Shirayuki was stood breathless in the entrance. She tried to approach them but was stopped by two guards "Lythias grabbed Zen by his neck and lifted him with un-natural strength, he looked at Shirayuki and smirked "he has saved me the trouble of having to come and collect you!" Zen looked at Lythias seriously and gasped "I have a request" Lythias raised his eyebrows "Oh? what might that be?" Zen tried hard to not look at Shirayuki, he could not afford to lose his resolve now "I will take Izana's place but please, let me say goodbye- to both him and Shirayuki and do not harm them" Lythias' face grinned slightly "I am fused to Izana, I can sense how much he cares for you, I can not resist these feelings. Very well I shall give you five minutes" He set Zen down and closed his eyes, when they opened again it was relieving to see that Izana was himself. He looked at Zen seriously "Zen don't do this!" Zen smiled and hugged his brother "Izana, don't worry about me. Clarines needs you, you are their king" Izana smiled "I'm not King yet brother" Zen laughed a little from Izana using his own words against him "You are the heir father chose" Izana shook his head and looked at Shirayuki "He also believed you would be a great King- why do you think he arranged for you to marry a princess?" he looked at the guard who was restraining Shirayuki "let her go, she needs to say goodbye" he released his grip and she threw herself at Zen "why? Why are you doing this?!" he shook his head sadly "the people need my brother and I want to make sure everyone is safe" Shirayuki sobbed and kissed him "I will find a way!" Zen embraced her. He refused to cry because he had faith in his brother- he had faith in Shiri "I know you will Shiri, when this is all over...will you marry me?" Izana smiled and passed Zen the ring that Shirayuki had given him back "still a lousy proposal Zen!" she laughed through her sniffles "You know I will!" he put the ring around her finger "thank you, you have given me a reason to come back!" he looked over Shirayuki's shoulder at Izana "you know what to do?" Izana nodded "leave it to me" he grabbed Shirayuki by the hand and led her away "come on, we need to go. Kiki and Mitsuhide are locked up in the cells we need to free them" Shirayuki stood still in horror as Lythias left Izana and fused with Zen. Izana pulled on her "quickly, we need to go! Zen wants me to take you all to safety!" she pulled "no! I can't leave him!" Izana picked her up and ran. The last thing she saw was Zen's face twisting into a cruel smile "Don't let them escape!" Shirayuki could no longer look at Zen- his face could never look so twisted "Don't worry Shirayuki, we will come back for him!" he stroked her hair in comfort as she stared scathingly in Lythias' directon "I know we will!".


	19. Chapter 19

Izana and Shirayuki ran as fast as they could towards the cells, somehow managing to fight their way through every guard "is it me or do they not seem to be attacking seriously?" Shirayuki asked him. Izana smiled as they continued to run "I seem to recall that we knew each other as children, I am not sure as to why I can only now remember this but perhaps it is the same for them? They must all remember you Shirayuki, they are all aware that you are the true princess of this castle. I suspect they are confused about who they should to follow, they will be frightened for their family's lives and for their own- you saw how many were taken to the cells" Shirayuki nodded remembering the devastatingly large amount of people that had been in the cells the last time she was there.

They found Kiki and Mitsuhide in the high priority cells, where Izana had been held and once again the guards seemed too easy to fight off. Kiki looked up at Shirayuki as she entered with a shy smile "you came for me, after how mean I was to you?" Shirayuki nodded with a kind smile "I do not blame you Kiki, I know you were under a spell. Though it seems as though it has broken. How?" Kiki smiled at Mitsuhide and blushed "I bumped into Mitsuhide, he was under that sorcerer's control and he received orders to bring me back to the castle and somehow he managed to refuse them and break free of the spell on his own. It was then that I saw them try to kill him. You must forgive me, I admit that I felt uncontrollable jealousy regarding prince Zen, but when I saw that Mitsuhide was in trouble...I guess it kind of reminded me who I really cared for" she lowered her head to hide her burning face and Mitsuhide smiled and wrapped his arm around her "it seems as though we saved each other. The question now however, is how do we get out of here? By the way, Izana how did you get free? Also where is Zen?" Shirayuki's eyes prickled but she refused to cry anymore. Izana sighed and shook his head "you know enough about my brother to know what he has done. However the good news is that upon switching hosts, the sorcerer forgot to empty his pockets, tee hee" he pulled out the ring of keys and unlocked their cells. Kiki and Mitsuhide walked out with dejected faces. Kiki kicked a nearby storage container over "Damn it! We are Zen's guard, this should never have happened!" Mitsuhide looked as equally glum as he picked the container up, though his face soon changed "hey look! Our stuff is in here! Wow they were careless leaving it so close to our cell like that!" He laughed slightly as he picked up his sword and handed Kiki's to her. Shirayuki looked at Izana with a considerably more cheery smile "I think you were right Izana, they must remember and are subtly trying to help us!" Izana nodded and put his hand on her shoulder with a proud smile "that means they acknowledge you as their true heir Shirayuki, your people believe in you and are behind you no matter what they face to lose as a consequence". Kiki frowned "I think its time to leave now!" Shirayuki turned around and her heart faltered as she saw Zen standing in the entrance-way. She took a step forward and smiled "Zen? it is you isn't it?" Zen smiled and stepped towards here with his hand out "yes Shiri, it is me! The sorcerer is inside Izana still! Kiki and Mitsuhide are lying they haven't managed to overcome the spell on their own!" Shirayuki looked uncertainly back at the others. Izana grabbed her hand and pulled her back "it's not Zen come on we have to go! Don't let him trick you!" Shirayuki looked at Izana in disdain "you will not take me away from Zen!" Kiki stepped forward angrily "don't be an idiot! You know it isn't Zen, we need to go now!" Shirayuki shook her head "of course it's my Zen!" she raised her hand and started attacking Izana with her magic "I will protect everyone from you Lythias and I will save Izana!" Mitsuhide slashed through the magical orbs, he did not know what they were or what they would do but he would not risk it "Prince Izana, what do we do? What has gotten into her!" Izana lowered his head "She is under Lythias' influence, it seems he's warped her mind. She still believes that I am the host. We will have to leave her for now we must go back to the forest and seek help from Elliana" Kiki frowned with irritation "Zen would not be happy if we left her! Damn it! Why does it keep turning out like this!" She dodged the oncoming attacks and ran at Lythias. Shirayuki's face became enraged as Kiki put her blade to Zen's throat "Snap out of it! I will kill Zen here and now! You have the will power to overcome this! Do you want him to get hurt!" Shirayuki laughed with un-natural coldness "you wouldn't hurt him, you love him! You love my Zen! Does it bother you that he is mine and not yours?" Shirayuki walked coolly over to Kiki and Zen and simply took the sword from Kiki and smirked darkly before stabbing her through the heart! "If you are going to kill someone Kiki, do it!" Kiki fell to her knees as Shirayuki threw the blade down in front of her. Mitsuhide screamed in despair as he ran forward and grabbed Lythias by the shoulders and shook him roughly "Zen! I know you're in there! You need to fight this! Look at what has happened! Kiki..." he fell to his knees next to Kiki and pulled her close to him as he sobbed. Lythias knelt next to them and grinned tauntingly "Zen isn't here Mitsuhide, I suggest you get out of here now and treat her before she really does die" Izana stepped forward- his face etched in suspicion "you're letting us go?" Lythias shrugged and put his arm around Shirayuki- who was wearing a strangely blank expression, like she really had become an emotionless doll "I am a man of my word, I made a deal that you would not be harmed and I have what I want now, I have Shirayuki. You all may leave" Izana stepped forward as he became possessed by rage "No harm would come to us?! Look at Kiki! I would say she has definitely been harmed!" Lythias laughed with amusement as he turned away to leave with Shirayuki "I promised I wouldn't harm you, technically it was Shirayuki that stabbed her. I am letting you leave so that you can treat her. My end of the bargain has been kept...oh and send my regards to Elliana"

Izana helped Mitsuhide as he helped Kiki up "I can't believe all of this! I really don't know what to do!" Izana closed his eyes "I do". They hastily fled the castle and headed into the forest "what do you have in mind Izana?" Kiki was losing blood fast and had fallen asleep as they took turns carrying her. Izana's memories of Shirayuki weren't the only thing he had somehow forgotten and now that he had remembered things made a lot more sense "all these years there has been a big old book in our library, I could never understand it as it was no language I had ever heard of. It turns out it was a book of spells. I remembered only recently- around the time I remembered Shirayuki, that my father had learnt this language but he possessed no magical talent. Such skills have been lost in todays society. He did know one woman however who had a natural ability- Shirayuki's birth mother. He became close friends with the King and Queen of Tanbarun and taught the Queen the language so that she could perform the spells. I believe my father knew about Lythias and wanted to arm both kingdoms against him. I have read every book in our library and there are countless tales about previous Kings apparently changing their character over night and dying mysteriously. Nothing ever clearly mentions Lythias as such but I believe that past generations knew how to fend him off because it seemed to stop... I believe that the knowledge to un-fuse him was handed down to my father. On the night that the King, Queen and Shirayuki disappeared, my father had rushed to go see the Queen urgently. He had kept his distance for some time because the King of Tanbarun had started acting strangely, he had began acting cruel and selfishly and it did not take my father long to realise what had happened. My father tore a page out of the old book and rushed to Tanbarun to meet with the Queen to do this spell" Izana paused to take Kiki from Mitsuhide so that he could rest "how do you know all of this Izana?" Izana smiled sadly "I am the next heir of Clarines, my father entrusted this knowledge to me, though it seems as though I had forgotten it until now. I can recall that the spell worked and un-fused Lythias from the King but from there it failed. They did not realise that he could simply fuse to another and so he selected a nearby guard as a host and attacked the King and Queen. My Father was unwillingly rushed away to safety by his guards and returned to Clarines, by the time he made it back out of the castle the King and Queen and Shirayuki was missing. We will not make the same mistake twice though. I will find that spell and this time I will find a way to stop him fusing to another!" Mitsuhide shook his head "how can we do it though? The Mother Tree?" Izana shook his head "No. Elliana can not stray too far from where her Tree's roots are planted or she will simply return to that of a Tree. I remember Lythias thinking that when he went to find them" Mitsuhide frowned once more "Shirayuki can use magic but she is under a spell, what happened to her parents? No one knows where they have been all this time? How do we know they really did die?" Izana raised his eyebrows "that is a good question. I can clearly remember that my Father was supposed to send out a search party for them, it must have been at that point that we all forgot because no one ever tried looking. My father never mentioned them again and he never spoke about magic or the book or Lythias. I wonder if Elliana can tell us more, she is the last person to see them alive. She told Shirayuki that they died and yet no one has ever actually seen their bodies?" could it be possible...?

They had made it back and found Elliana waiting for them and she had noted Kiki's condition "bring her inside, she is very weak! What happened? Where is Shirayuki?" Izana lowered his head sadly "I am sorry Elliana, Lythias has her under his spell" her face remained stoic as she attended to Kiki's wounds "I see. I am glad you three made it back in any case- she would be relieved. Zen has taken your place hasn't he?" Izana nodded "I didn't want him to, I am the older brother it's my job to protect him!" Elliana looked up with a gentle smile "Zen sacrificed himself for something bigger, he knew that the people needed their king and he wanted to do whatever he could to protect Shirayuki. He could not foresee the consequences of his decision" Izana focused on Elliana's face and narrowed his eyes "Elliana, what happened to Shirayuki's parents? Did they really die?" Elliana's face remained calm but Izana could sense some unease "what is the purpose of these questions?" Izana shrugged his shoulders "I happen to know where there is a spell that can Un-fuse the sorcerer but we need someone capable of using magic to do it, Shirayuki is unavailable to us and so we need someone else who can use magic and the only person I know of-aside from you, is her mother. No one actually ever found their bodies so optimistic though it may be, isn't there a chance they could still be alive?" the more he spoke to Elliana the more confident he became in his words _I never actually believed that they could still be alive, however Elliana's reaction is causing me to question it all!_ Elliana closed her eyes and took a deep breath "I have a confession".

 _I am so so sorry once again for the turn of events however bare with me because I know that Zen and Shirayuki can pull through this! Also Elliana has a dark secret? I promise to update soon so we can find out what it is! bye for now!_


	20. Chapter 20

Izana raised his eyebrows with keen interest "oh? Please do share" Elliana's face became contrite "everything I have done I have done for Shirayuki- like erasing her from all of your lives and you from hers, I did this to keep her safe so that she wouldn't need to leave the safety of my forest. However my deepest secret is one that I fear should she ever know, she will no longer be able to call me mother" Izana grinned in amusement at Elliana "wow, that bad?" Elliana pointed towards a nearby tree "follow me through here, I have to show you something" Izana nodded and followed her "after you" he had heard quite a bit about the Mother Tree from Shirayuki. Elliana was Shirayuki's adoptive mother- what could she have done that caused such a guilty expression to surface on her face? Izana knew it almost most definitely had something to do with the King and Queen.

He followed Elliana through a path that- although it was a forest, it seemed disconnected to the forest they had been in. The trees were bare and there was no life here- no plants nor grass "what happened here?" Elliana looked around her as they entered a clearing "this is my forest. I lived here with Shirayuki, though back then the forest was green and beautiful. This was Shirayuki's favourite place. It was a meadow filled with wildflowers, however I wonder if somehow on a subconscious level she knew what was here" Izana touched a nearby tree, it crumbled into ash under his touch and Elliana shook her head mournfully "I left the earth to be with Shirayuki, when I tried to return- the earth rejected me. I told Shirayuki that it was because I was away for too long" Izana grinned knowingly "that's not true though is it? I have remembered the past now- that was your doing?... In any case Shirayuki was 16 when she went missing- she isn't that much older now, you have only had her for a few short years" Elliana's face had become hesitant- like she really didn't want to share, however she took a deep breath and continued "It doesn't matter how long I am in this form as long as I remain within the general area where my roots are. The earth rejected me because it sensed my betrayal. I became the protector of this forest and swore an oath to use my maternal instinct to protect all life and nature- this forest and its inhabitants are my children. As soon as I welcomed Shirayuki into my forest she was under my protection and she was my child- as were her parents" she knelt down and reached into the ground "so her parents did make it into your forest? Shirayuki believed that they died before then" Elliana stood and beckoned him over. As he approached he noticed that there was now an opening in the ground- it certainly was not there a moment ago. Elliana started to descend down the stairs and so he followed "down here is my greatest shame" Izana looked around him, the walls and steps were made of stone and it was dimly lit only by the sunlight shining through from the entrance above. At the bottom of the stairs there was a short corridor that led to a solid wooden door. Izana waited as Elliana unlocked it then followed her through. A single circular room lay beyond though it was so dark that Izana could not see anything. Elliana lit several candles with her magic and stood still with her head bowed in shame as Izana walked towards the source of her guilt "Please do tell me the story behind all of this" It was clear that two of the people in this room was the King and Queen- though they seemed unharmed "it is true that they were on the verge on death, I decided that I would preserve them in my resin before death came for them and I would do all I could to heal them. The plan was, once I had managed to find a way to save their lives, I would free them and allow them to leave with Shirayuki..." Izana looked sadly into the face of the Queen- she looked so similar to Shirayuki- apart from the hair "I take it you had a change of heart?" he looked at the third inhabitant of the room, he knew who this was- it was Lythias' true body. It had also been encased in Elliana's resin- was this to imprison him? "Yes, I became to care for Shirayuki as a true daughter. I did not want her to ever leave. I succeeded in healing her mother and father but I became unwilling to release them because they would take my dear daughter away from me! As soon as I made this decision, I betrayed Shirayuki- and my oath. The earth sensed my betrayal and rejected me as its mother and protector. I was no longer able to return and the forest died along with me" She sighed sadly "this was only ever meant to be Lythias' prison until he decided to join me again, I never meant to make it a prison for the King and Queen too" Izana frowned deeply in thought "didn't Lythias believe that his body and this forest were destroyed?" she nodded "yes, I tried to persuade him to fuse to a tree like I have and then we could be together again. His body has almost used all of the strength he had stored from all the others- it will die soon so he will either keep switching hosts or he will need to kill others to take their strength. The alternative is that he fuses to a tree- as long as his roots are in the earth he will have infinate strength and he can be by my side again" Izana shook his head incredulously "he has done so much evil- yet you still love him? You still want him to live?" Elliana smiled gently "I cling on to the hope that the man I married is still in there somewhere, he was not always so cruel. He loved his family so deeply yet my death affected him so much that it caused him to become someone he isn't. His loneliness grew into jealousy when our son married" Izana gave her a disapproving look "that does not excuse his behavior! Do you think he is the only one who has lost anything? Thanks to him we have all lost so much! If we were all to act that way simply because we could not accept death what do you think would happen to this world?" Elliana lowered her head "I agree Prince Izana- that does not excuse his behaviour, I hope that by making him join me he can spend his life atoning by offering his protection to nature and the people. I performed a spell sealing off his soul from his body so that he believed it to be destroyed and so he will hopefully realise that he has no other option but to join me. I just hope I can set things right. I will start by freeing Shirayuki's parents, her mother can do the spell to un-fuse him from Zen but we need Shirayuki too- she needs to then fuse him to a tree before he can escape into a new host. I hope that seeing her true mother will be enough to help her overcome the spell" Izana became quiet as he absorbed all of this information, it was incredible that the small amount of hope they had- that the King and Queen were well, came to be true! It was lucky that Elliana came clean because they may not have had a chance otherwise, but now Izana could begin to look at the future with optimism.

Izana watched anxiously as Elliana began the process of freeing the King and Queen from her resin. Her hand glowed as she chanted the spell and soon after the resin melted away. Izana frowned as he waited for them to open their eyes "did it work?" Elliana nodded with a strained smile "yes, though I do not know how long it will be until they awake- they have been asleep for a long time now and they will be rather weak. I suggest we take them back for now and wait until they wake up" Elliana raised her hands and the King and Queen were raised into the air so that she could transport them easily.

Upon returning to the village Elliana laid the King and Queen to rest in Shirayuki's empty hut. Izana entered the make shift hospital and was pleased to see that Kiki was sat up and seemed to be alive- albeit still in pain. He was concerned however, as he approached he noted that both Kiki and Mitsuhide wore apprehensive looks "what has happened?" Mitsuhide stood and handed Izana a sealed envelope. He ripped it open and read with attentiveness-

 _'Dear Brother,_

 _It is our pleasure to welcome you to the wedding of Prince Zen- second Prince of Clarines and Princess Shirayuki of Tanbarun. We hope that you will join us on our special day 2 days from now at Noon'_

Izana finished reading and his face grew cold "what is this? Is this a joke?!" Mitsuhide handed Izana the letter he held in his own hand "We all received one, why would he invite us?" Izana frowned _is it a trap? Or is he genuinely getting married to Shirayuki?_ Mitsuhide looked at Izana in deep concern "what do we do Prince Izana? It is almost certainly a trap, and yet we can't let him marry her- Zen will never forgive us" Izana screwed the letter up furiously "how dare he use my brother's name! Shirayuki is meant to marry my brother, not someone pretending to be him! We will go- regardless of the risks because I have a way to save her, you managed to overcome your spells by will power because you cared for each other. I have the very person who will be able to make Shirayuki see sense. It seems as though the King and Queen were indeed alive and well!" Mitsuhide stood suddenly in surprise "really? They really were alive all along! Where are they? What happened!" Izana grinned slightly and Mitsuhide sat quickly in response realising he had forgotten himself- It was not Zen he was talking to now, it was Prince Izana- soon to be King "forgive me your highness I forgot myself!" Izana shook his head "that's quite alright Mitsuhide, it is indeed shocking news. They are still asleep, its a long story but to cut it short, Elliana had been healing them all of this time- they were preserved in her resin until such a time they were fully healed. Elliana succeeded in healing them but became begrudging to release them- because she could not face losing Shirayuki" Kiki smiled brightly "does that mean we have hope?" her voice was faint but it was also sanguine. Izana's face became confident and his air of authority seemed to return "I am confident- we can win this!"


	21. Chapter 21

Shirayuki tried to force a smile as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was strange, she wanted more than anything to be Zen's wife- _why don't I feel happy?_ She looked at her white dress and shook her head- _this isn't what we promised! Zen isn't himself. I feel like I am forgetting something important!_ Shirayuki had spent the last couple of days in a daze, she was happy that they were going ahead with everything but it all seemed rushed. Things were definitely strange yet when she tried to piece her mind together nothing would connect! _Why am I so confused?_

She closed her eyes as she recalled her favourite memory. She was sat with Zen in her flower garden, she loved this part of the castle because it was her private place- no guards or maids or any of the castles inhabitants were permitted to enter. She laid back against the grass and looked up at the sunny sky. Zen watched as her hair sprawled out messily below her- he loved her this way; carefree and relaxed. She was just like he was, always restrained by stupid rules that they had to follow only because they were born as royalty and yet just like Zen she wished she could live free. He moved his hand on to hers and she flinched and moved it away suddenly "Zee, what are you doing?" his face became red and he grinned "We will be married one day isn't it natural to hold hands?" he laid next to her and she offered her hand to him with a smile. He glanced sideways at her when did she start looking so beautiful? She moved her head so that she could see him better and smiled shyly "your acting weird today Zee" he shook his head and laughed "I have realised how lucky I am Shiri, I am fortunate that my arranged marriage is to my best friend. Do you remember what you said? You promised we would have lots of fun" Shiri laughed "of course we will! Even our wedding will be fun! We won't wear anything boring or normal! We will wear whatever we want and have all of our friends there!" Zen sat up with enthusiasm "yeah! And for a whole day there will be no rules- we wont be a prince and a princess! We will be just Zee and Shiri!" Shiri sat up too "and Zu!" Zee laughed and nodded "of course! Zu will be my best man!" Shiri frowned "what about Mitsuhide?" Zee grinned widely "of course! No rules remember! I can have as many best men as I want! We won't even get married in a boring church or castle- we will get married somewhere fun!" Shiri giggled playfully "hmmmm where would it be fun to get married!" Zee jumped up with a boyish smile "I guess it doesn't matter where- as long as its you I am marrying it will definitely be fun!" Shiri nodded in excitement "we can play hide and seek like we used to!" Zee frowned a little "won't we be a little old?" she shook her head quickly "no way! that's just what boring people say to stop us having fun! We will have fun forever Zee with no stupid rules tee hee!" He dived at her and began tickling her "hehe well there are no rules that say I can't tickle the princess- that's something fun" she collapsed in a giggling heap under his tickle torture. He stopped and allowed her to regain her breath. Her eyes were bright with excitement, her face was flushed and her hair was really messy "Shiri, I can't wait to marry you. Dad said I have to formally propose to you when your 18 at an important event. Truth be told I don't want to do it for the entertainment of others, it should be our own special moment!" He had realised that he was still hanging over the top of her and without thinking he bent down and kissed her gently on her lips "I know this is lousy but it is not often we are aloud alone now that we are 15, it will be that way until we are married. I want to do it now when it is just our moment so Shiri...will you marry me?" Her eyes widened in surprise but a joyous smile soon followed "it is so lousy a proposal Zee that it's perfect! Yes!" he grinned and kissed her once again "My dad has given me a ring to give you once we are engaged- but I can't give you it until your 18. Just don't forget that even though you don't have a ring yet- your mine okay?" She nodded and sat up "we better get back before they send everyone looking for us" They heard a laugh and looked up "not everyone, just me" Zu jumped down from a nearby tree with a smirk "hey lovebirds! I have to admit it your wedding sounds fun- count me in!" Zee's face became annoyed "oi Zu! If your there then say something! I have to have a do-over now!" Zu bent over laughing hysterically "nope, you didn't know I was here so it still counts. Besides what if she says no this time?" Zee playfully hit him over the head "she wouldn't do that!" Zu was rubbing his head as he laughed harder still "she could if she wanted to! Right Shiri?" she had been sat smiling in amusement at the two of them "that's true, if Zee's proposal isn't perfect again I might be tempted to say no this time- besides I have no problem if its only Zu who saw it" Zu put his arm around Shiri and squeezed her into him "yeah I am Shiri's favourite cousin after all!" Zee sighed in exasperation "that doesn't say much- your her only cousin!"

Tears emerged on Shirayuki's face as she once again looked at her boring white dress. _This isn't fun! My dress is boring and Zu isn't here. Zen and I were supposed to have fun at our wedding!_ She wiped her eyes hastily as the door opened "Princess! Your crying!". Shirayuki hid her face and laughed "everyone cries at weddings don't they? Besides, Today I am not a princess" Ellie frowned "what do you mean?" She stared blankly at the mirror in front of her and removed her Tiara "we promised..." Ellie opened the door "it's time...Shirayuki" Shirayuki glanced glumly one last time at her reflection before leaving.

Izana paced outside the door stopped as It opened and Elliana stepped out "Have they awoken yet?" She shook her head "I am sorry they have not yet awoke- their condition has drastically improved though" Izana began to panic _we're not going to make it!_ He looked back at the others who were all gathered waiting to go- all looking at him evidently with worry in their eyes. He looked down thinking hard "we have no choice; we must go before it is too late" Elliana opened the door "do what you must to save her- I will see what I can do to speed up things here" he nodded and turned away before pausing "Elliana, is it really true that you and Lythias are my ancestors?" she closed her eyes and smiled "yes, I am your 'way too many greats' Grandma" Izana grinned in response to this "what was your Son- the founder of Clarines like?" Elliana gently raised her hand to Izana's cheek "he was much like you Izana, although he had Zen's mischievousness" Izana closed his eyes so that he could picture this man _if only I had Zen's Mischievousness too!_ "it must have been hard on you- having to watch him from afar all that time" she smiled kindly with an air of pride "you must know, you have watched Zen from afar all these years have you not? You are his brother yet holding the title of 'First Prince' and the heir to the Throne made it so that you could not be close to Zen like you wanted to be. Didn't you hate the rules just as much as he did? Because it prevented you from being true brothers. All you wanted to do was play 'don't touch the lava'. Your title prevented you from being allowed to stay by his side" Izana's heart ached a little from nostalgia. Zen was always asking to play that game and Izana loved watching him play it because each time he would aim higher and challenge himself- Izana wanted to encourage him to see life this way too. "I was satisfied watching from afar because I knew that even without me by his side- he was and always would be- a brother I could be proud of" Elliana nodded in approval "exactly, I have lived a privileged life because I got to watch the great man my Son became and then watch over his children and their children with pride. You and Zen are no exception. I have watched you both proudly- The Kingdom of Clarines and The Kingdom of Tanbarun could not ask for finer Kings" a small laugh escaped him "Thank you Elliana for your kind words, I shall be off now, I think I should make it in time for the 'I do's' we need to convince Shirayuki to say 'I don't' although I'm not sure how, I guess I will have to think of something on the way!"


	22. Chapter 22

Shirayuki walked slowly towards the alter, she glanced around hoping to see the others. _Where are they?_ Her heart pained at the thought that their friends weren't there. Where was Zu, Mitsuhide, Kiki and even Izana? She frowned deeply- her mind seemed to have become even more disconnected. _What is it i'm forgetting?_ She saw Zen waiting for her at the end of the isle and her heart lifted somewhat. _I guess it doesn't matter that it isn't the wedding we dreamed of, all that matters is that I'm with Zen!_ Her face brightened a little in response to this thought.

She stopped and faced Zen as he took her hand with a charming smile. They turned to face the priest and waited patiently for the ceremony to begin. Shirayuki stifled a yawn and shook her head with irritation "wait..." the priest looked up and frowned "what is it my dear?" Shirayuki took a step away with a hammering heart "I can't do this...something isn't right!" Zen grabbed her wrist so hard that it hurt "ouch! Zen...get off me!" she tried pulling away but he was too strong "what's gotten into you Zen! Let go!" she looked deep into Zen's captivating blue eyes and felt herself calm down "I am sorry, please lets continue" the priest looked uncertainly at Zen "are you deaf old man? She said continue!" Shirayuki's mind was blank and her eyes felt glazed. The only thing that seemed important right now was Zen...there was nothing else, nothing to remember and nothing worth thinking about...nothing but Zen. She hardly heard the words but before she knew it she could hear Zen's voice "I do" the priest spoke to her but his voice was inaudible to her, she stared at him in confusion _What did he say?_ A small voice entered her mind _say 'I do'_ she frowned _how silly! I completely forgot!_ She smiled fondly at Zen and took a deep breath "I do" Zen smiled and leaned in for the kiss. They were pronounced man and wife and there was quiet applause from the small gathering of guests.

Several gasps echoed through the room as the doors opened and Izana ran in breathlessly "stop! stop! This wedding can not continue!" Shirayuki looked at Izana in confusion "who are you?" he frowned deeply at Lythias "what have you done to her! She barely looks human!" Lythias laughed coldly "she was rather successfully fighting my spell... so I had to strengthen it a fair bit, it will be impossible for her to fight against now!" Izana stepped forward angrily and shouted at the priest "do not continue with this wedding! Shirayuki is not herself- she is not truly consenting to this marriage. Zen is also not himself- he is really a sorcerer called Lythias!" the priest shook his head sadly "I am very sorry, it is already over" Izana looked at Shirayuki with desperation plain on his face "Zen told me...he told me what he promised you. Is this what you want for your wedding? Would Zen truly not keep his promise?" She pondered over this _Something is wrong, he said Zen is really Lythias...he is right Zen would never break his promise...What did he promise though?_ Izana saw with hope as understanding dawned on her face, then clenched his hand as he saw her eyes glaze over. Her face grew angry and she stepped forward "I will not allow you to ruin our wedding! I don't know who you are but leave now!" Izana shook his head "I can't leave you, Zen would kill me" he walked up to her slowly "if you truly do not know who I am, then kill me!" she nodded and walked over to a guard and took his sword away "very well, you leave me no choice" he stood there and nodded with a small smile "go on. Do it." She raised the sword and placed it on his throat "why do you not move? Do you really think I won't do it?!" Izana grinned with arrogance "Why do _you_ not move? You can't kill me can you? You know deep down you don't want to hurt me" Shirayuki pulled a cruel smile and narrowed her eyes "how's Kiki?" she pulled back the sword and thrust it forward "STOP!" her blade paused inches away "and who are you?" a woman entered the room and laughed slightly "oh my dear, please don't tell me you have forgotten your mother?" Shirayuki looked away from her and turned her attention back to the blade in her hands "my mother is dead...so is my father" she turned her head abruptly as she heard a loud chuckle "I'm not dead, but Zen will be unless you get a hold of yourself" a man was stood with a dagger against Zen's throat "you love Zen don't you! You must fight the spell Lythias has over you or he will die!" Shirayuki dropped the blade and scowled "Don't hurt him" the man tightened his grip around Zen "simply dropping your weapon is not enough, you must fight it Shirayuki!" Izana jumped forward and grabbed Shirayuki "Don't hurt Zen Mukaze! I will not have him harmed!" Mukaze laughed "have faith Izana, Shirayuki is strong enough to fight it she would never let anything happen to him" Izana shook his head "if she was going to fight it already she would have done!" Zen's head lowered and his face became angry "Mukaze, release me. I need to speak to Shirayuki?" Izana's eyes widened "ZEN? It is you isn't it Zen!" Zen nodded "I don't know how much longer I can keep my mind clear of Lythias but for now you need to help Shirayuki!" Mukaze retained his grip on Zen "It could be a trick Izana!" Izana shook his head and laughed "very well Zen, answer me this to verify it really is you. What was your nickname for me when we were younger?" Zen's face coloured up "no way!" Izana grinned "come on Zen how will we know it's you otherwise?" Zen sighed heavily "why couldn't you pick another question? Fine...it was Zanzan" Izana laughed loudly "yep it's him! Hahaha" Mukaze released him "haha very well my boy, now save my daughter!" Zen nodded and walked over to Shirayuki and grabbed her hand with a dark look on his face "Shirayuki, you promised you wouldn't kiss Lythias again! You broke your promise to me! Now you better fight the spell he has over you because I won't let it happen again!" Shirayuki's face dropped as his words sank in _I promised?_ Her mind blew open as she realised that Zen was really in front of her _Lythias has been Zen all along!_ Tears fell down her face as clarity came back to her "Zen! Mama! Daddy! Izana...oh god Kiki...I hurt her" she fell to her knees sobbing. There was so much information to absorb and it all hurt so much, her heart was unable to handle this much at once. Zen dropped to his knees and hugged her "shhhhhh, its ok I am here...but I don't know how much longer for. Take your parents and Izana and flee here, I know you can all do this!" Shirayuki shook her head as she gasped for air through her sobs "I can't leave you again Zen, I just can't" Zen held her close "you look beautiful in that dress, but our wedding is going to be fun remember? Hold on to our promise Shirayuki, it will protect you from falling under his spell again you know that I will never break my promise!" He kissed her gently and helped her up before looking to the King and Queen "I can't believe your alive, I am happy to see you are safe" he walked over to Izana and smiled "thank you brother, I managed to fight the hold he had over me because you gave me a reason to fight back. You knew King Mukaze wouldn't hurt me yet you knew that if you appeared to be a threat to Shirayuki I wouldn't let her be in trouble, please take her to safety and protect Clarines!" Izana lowered his head "you would ask me to leave you again too?" Zen put his hand on Izana's shoulder and grinned mischievously "bye Zanzan" Shirayuki frowned as Izana grabbed her by the hand to lead her away from Zen once again "very well brother, I shall leave for now and protect what you hold most dear, however I shall return for you!" Zen smiled as he looked at Shirayuki "good, because I have a promise to keep!" the priest stepped forward frowning "what is happening?!" Zen smiled at the priest "this doesn't count okay?Lets just call it a failed dress rehearsal!" The priest nodded "I do not fully understand what is happening however I will leave if I am no longer needed".

They all ran from the castle and Shirayuki was glad to see that once again none of the guards were stopping them _they are not stupid they know what's going on!_ She was also glad that she got to escape before Lythias' cruel features surfaced on Zen's handsome face once again.

She could not take her eyes of her parents as she ran. There was so much she wanted to say to them but she could not draw enough breath to keep running and to talk at the same time and so she settled on watching her parents in silent appreciation. Fresh tears burned her eyes and she wiped them away _there will be time for talking later, for now we need to get back._

Upon making it back to the forest Shirayuki rushed in and looked around frowning _where is Elliana?_ "Shirayuki? I am glad your safe, if your looking for Elliana you should come with me" Shirayuki threw her arms out "Kiki! your ok! I can't apologise enough for what I did" Kiki smiled warmly and stroked her hair as she hugged her and cried loudly "it's ok Shirayuki, I was also spelled and so we are even now" Shirayuki shook her head "no way! You never actually hurt me, I almost killed you though!" Kiki shook her head "never mind that, I will take you to Elliana" Shirayuki looked uncertainly at her parents. Mukaze put his arm around her mother with a warm smile "go and see her, we will talk later"

Shirayuki followed Kiki to the 'acorn garden'. Kiki stopped at the entrance "I will let you go in alone. By the way, I am glad your back Shirayuki" she left Shirayuki feeling nervous and overwhelmed. She entered the garden and sighed sadly as she saw the lonely looking tree in the middle "Mother?" she listened to the tree's spirit and laughed a little "are you sulking? why have you returned to the earth already?" she listened intently as the Mother Tree responded "I am no longer needed as your mother, I am a tree after all it is only natural that I would return to the earth" Shirayuki sat next to the tree and placed her forehead against it "why don't you tell me what is bothering you mother?" she could sense the unease in Elliana's soul "how can you still call me mother, when you can sense the guilt within me?" Shirayuki smiled kindly and shook her head "I trust you and I know you would never do anything to hurt me, I take it the fact my birth parents are alive has something to do with this- and are the source of your troubles? You know Elliana, no matter what happens you have always been a mother to me and nothing will change that! Now why don't you tell me what is wrong?"


	23. Chapter 23

Elliana sighed and laughed a little "it seems I taught you well, there truly is no hiding anything from you. I admit that I am a little worried to confess my sins to you" Shirayuki smiled and patted the tree kindly "Elliana, it is ok to if you have done something bad…it is only human. You may be the mother tree but your soul is Human. I have committed sins of my own. I nearly killed Kiki and even tried to kill Izana. It is Human to make mistakes and it is also Human to forgive, have more faith in me" She could feel Elliana's spirit lift a little and knew she was about to voice her worries "You are right it is only Human to make mistakes but I acted selfishly Shirayuki. I preserved your parents in my resin and when they were healed I meant to release you all from this forest. It took longer than I expected to reverse the harm inflicted upon them and so when they were finally healthy again I found it difficult to release you…I intended to keep you in this forest with me, despite knowing how you loathed being a prisoner here! I acted selfishly Shirayuki and that is why I was not allowed to return to the earth- it sensed my deception" Shirayuki smiled sadly and shook her head "I forgive you Elliana, knowing that you healed my parents- who I believed to be dead, gives me more joy than I thought possible . It may be true that you intended to keep me a prisoner here. However what matters is that in the end I have been given my freedom and my parents are alive! Elliana, you are human you made a mistake yet you have already set things right. Do not hide away in shame! After everything is said and done you have protected me and saved my parents…Thank you!"

Elliana changed back into her Human shape and threw her arms around Shirayuki with tears in her eyes "I do not deserve such a kind daughter like you!" Shirayuki's own eyes started burning back tears and she laughed through her sniffles. She took a step back and sighed deeply "Elliana, one thing still bothers me. Lythias is your Husband and I know you still love him- how can I ask you to fight him with me?" Elliana grinned and picked up Shirayuki's spell book "because we aren't fighting him- we're bringing him home! We have your Mother now! She has amazing power and with her help you can both succeed! Last time the Queen failed because once Un-fusing Lythias she didn't fuse him to something else and so he was able to choose a new host. I plan to fuse him to a tree like he did to me". Shirayuki frowned slightly-this plan was full of flaws "Elliana, fusing him to a tree is all well and good but what's to stop him taking on a human form like you and still terrorising people? Or what if he learns to un-fuse himself from the tree and just fuses to someone else?" Elliana smiled kindly "think about how much you love Zen, how much you trust him and how much you miss him. Zen is doing unspeakable evil right now yet all you want is for him to be by your side" Shirayuki's face dropped and she became angry "it is not Zen doing all those terrible things! He is not himself!" Elliana nodded still smiling "precisely, Lythias and I were once as you and Zen are and he is not himself either! Loneliness is a terrible thing and Humans cannot cope with it. Look at what I did because I was lonely! I was ready to imprison you in this forest so that I didn't have to be alone. Lythias is not himself and once he returns to my side and realises that he no longer has to be alone, he will be the man I love once again. He will do all he can to atone for his sins…as will I. You spoke of forgiveness earlier Shirayuki- does that not extend to Lythias?" she stood there with her mouth open in surprise before laughing and nodding "you are right, it is important to forgive…when it is earned. I forgave you Elliana because you saw the error of your ways and you set things right. Can the same be said for Lythias? Will he take responsibility for his crimes? Will he try to atone? If the answer is yes then of course I shall forgive him…but there is one thing I cannot forgive. Zu is dead. You said yourself I cannot change his fate. Many others have also died from Lythias' actions. Forgiveness is not mine alone to give" Shirayuki was once again on the verge of tears. Elliana smiled and embraced her "Fear not Shirayuki, I encased Zura in my resin just so that I could preserve him. I had thought he was lost forever but whilst you were in Tanbarun I sensed that he still retained a faint hint of life! I have been slowly restoring energy to him and reviving him like I did your parents; I believe he will be just fine!" Shirayuki's knees gave way and she fell to the floor with overwhelming relief "Zu…he's alive?" she wept in gratitude as Elliana helped her up "you have much to be celebrating right now, please do not let me hold you off on your reunion with your parents any longer. I shall go and tend to Zura and check on his condition" Shirayuki nodded and gave Elliana a gentle kiss on her cheek "thank you…mother". Shirayuki was filled with so many emotions and she had so much to be grateful for- the fact that those who she believed were lost were alive and they finally had a plan to stop Lythias once and for all! However it was all marred by the fact Zen wasn't here to celebrate with her. She sighed heavily and tried to ignore the gaping hole in her heart- that was the absence of her beloved.

She walked through the crowd of people. As she approached they all parted to let her through and she smiled in encouragement to each of them _that's right these have all suffered too- it is their forgiveness Lythias needs, not mine._ She spotted the painfully nostalgic faces of her parents beaming widely at her and suddenly the space between them seemed so vast! She ran with all of her strength so that she could close the distance between them, before now what separated them was not something she could overcome simply by running. Once again she found something to be grateful for as she threw herself into the waiting arms of her parents "MAMA. DADDY!" she did not care that others were watching her only concern was that she was once again with her parents "I am so happy that your both ok! I have missed you both so much!" Her father was hugging her so tight she thought her body might break but she did not mind because somehow the pain only confirmed to her that he was really there- he was alive! She grabbed her mothers hand and knew that the warmth she felt from it was enough to tell her that she too was really there in front of her. She took a step back and turned around to face the people standing around her "People of Clarines. I realise how much you have all lost, you have been driven from your home and it now lies in ruins. Many of you were injured and even lost someone dear to you. Prince Zen sacrificed himself so that he could return Izana- your rightful King, to you. I am simply a princess from a neighbouring kingdom however along with my mother I now have a means to finally put an end to Lythias' wrong doings! I hope that one day I can be the Key to uniting our Kingdoms and when that day comes I swear I shall dedicate all I have to help you rebuild your homes!" Izana stepped forward clapping enthusiastically and also faced his people "Princess Shirayuki's words have spoken directly to my heart. They still ring loudly in my ears because her message is so clear! We have all lost something or someone yet we retain our hope and our strength. We were once a Kingdom divided and now here we stand-together and strong! She speaks of a future where both Tanbarun and Clarines can stand together and aid one another. The fact you all stand here with high spirits- despite all that has happened, proves to me the courage and strength our Kingdom holds let us all work towards the future Princess Shirayuki speaks of!" Shirayuki closed her eyes as she savoured the feeling of optimism that had filled the atmosphere. Everyone believed that things were going to be ok and so did she. The pain she felt in Zen's absence was not so sore now for she knew that she would see him again- Soon.

She signalled to her parents to follow her and led them back into the acorn garden "We should go speak to Elliana and discuss our next move" her mother nodded and her father grinned "in our absence you have grown into a fine woman! The way you addressed those people and inspired their confidence in you was incredible! I am so proud of you" Shirayuki wrapped her arms around her father and planted a small kiss on his prickly cheek "tee hee Daddy, you need a shave!" he stroked his overgrown beard and laughed in response "you don't like it? I think it makes me look rather manly!" Shirayuki shook her head smiling playfully "its too spiky!"

Elliana was stood in the entrance to her garden and bowed respectfully "please come in and talk so we can finally end all this" they followed her in to the garden and gathered around the book. Shirayuki's mother looked sadly at the book and sighed "The king of Clarines…he's dead isn't he?" Shirayuki nodded sadly "yes. Zen told me it happened unexpectedly only recently. I am sorry I know you were his friend mother" Mukaze offered a consoling arm "I am sorry dear I wish he could have held on for you to see him one last time" she shook her head with a slight smile "I made peace with my past a long time ago Mukaze" Shirayuki frowned a little "are you ever going to tell me what happened with Zen's father?" she looked at Mukaze uncertainly but he nodded in encouragement "it's ok she will understand" Elliana smiled knowingly and Shirayuki did not miss this "I was childhood friends with the King of Clarines and also he was my first love. No one knows this apart from us and your father but when I turned 16 he asked my parents for my hand but they refused- I was already promised to your father. I guess you could say that in the beginning I resented Mukaze because I believed he was in the way of my true happiness. In time I got to know your father and I went ahead with the wedding, I could see that he was a good man and my feelings towards him grew. He knew of my love for another yet rather than be angered by this he extended his hand in friendship to the King of Clarines and we worked past it from this the idea to arrange a marriage between you and Zen was formed" she picked up the book and held it close "from a young age It became apparent that I held a natural ability for magic although we didn't know it was magic we just knew that strange things seemed to happen around me it was later on we realised that I had magical talents and so on that night when all this happened he was going to gift me that spell book so that I could hone my skills and protect both Kingdoms…although as we know things didn't go to plan" Shirayuki grinned at Elliana "you already knew this didn't you?" Elliana chuckled "of course, I told you I have been watching my family for a long time. I already knew that Zen and Izana would have the book their father wished to gift to your mother. I already knew he was the person chosen to be your husband and I already knew that he and his brother would be the ones to help you save everyone…and Lythias. That is why I opened up the way to him and why I asked him to take you from the forest. Now the time has come however, to put this grand scheme into its final phase and so I will now show you the 2 spells in this book that will accomplish this".


	24. Chapter 24

Elliana showed them the two spells that were vital to their plan. One would allow them to un-fuse Lythias from Zen and one would be used to fuse him to something else. It had been under discussion as to how to fuse him to something else and what it would be. Elliana wished to fuse him to a tree near here so that they could be together again; this however presented itself with new problems. Lythias needed to be close to the tree in question, but could they get him there long enough to perform the spell? There was also the fear that if he knew he was being threatened, he would use too much power and kill Zen and simply switch to a new host. Shirayuki's mother agreed that she would be the one to perform the spell to un-fuse Lythias- having already successfully executed it once before! Shirayuki would then be the one to fuse him. Again this plan had its own issues mainly because Shirayuki's mother's strength was weak due to her being asleep for so long- Elliana explained that it was like a muscle, if you hadn't used it in a while it wouldn't stay strong and that the more you used it the stronger it became. Shirayuki was much the same, she had only performed a few spells and so her strength was not at its highest either, this meant that before they could put their plan into action they needed to practice and strengthen their abilities.

Shirayuki was sat in the acorn garden going through the book and was practising simple spells with her mother. She was practicing on a nearby daisy- she was practicing a spell that would allow her to change it from a daisy into different flowers. It had been fun seeing the different flowers that she had managed to turn it into. Her mother applauded her as she successfully turned the daisy to a single red rose. Shirayuki grinned excitedly and paused to watch as her mother attempted a different spell- one that caused fruit to grow rapidly. Shirayuki watched happily as a tasty green apple grew on a nearby tree and then fell to the ground. Her mother picked it up and shook her head "aww this is no good I wanted a red apple- they taste sweeter". Elliana nodded in approval "I can tell how much stronger you have become already. A little more and we shall practice the un-fusing and fusing" Shirayuki stood abruptly "you mean practice on someone? No way! Something could go wrong!" Elliana picked up the red rose and beamed proudly "Have more faith, besides I will be the volunteer. I will turn into a tree and I want you to un-fuse me and then fuse me to this" she handed Shirayuki an acorn "I think this would address our issues, we needn't fuse him to a tree we can simply fuse him to an acorn like this and he can be planted next to me to grow slowly and its portable so we can take it to him!" Shirayuki grinned as she looked at the tiny acorn in Elliana's hand. That would be perfect! It could be easily hidden and so they had the element of surprise no to mention because it would grow slowly his powers would be weak "Ok, lets try it!"

Elliana had returned to the form of a tree so that they could practice un-fusing her from it. Shirayuki watched in interest as her mother began frowning in deep concentration "I can't do it! I just can't muster up the strength!" Shirayuki smiled "keep trying. You will eventually become stronger" she nodded and once again recited the words for the spell. Shirayuki held her breath and waited in anticipation- however Elliana's spirit remained within the tree. She had been trying now for the better part of 3 hours and it had become dark. She fell to her knees and shook her head in defeat "I am exhausted. I don't feel any stronger either" Elliana shifted into her human form and smiled in encouragement "do not be so hard on yourself. This is no easy spell you were incredibly powerful the last time you tried it because you had been practising magic for years. I did feel something happening on that last attempt. I think we should call it a day for now. Go and rest and we can try again tomorrow" Shirayuki yawned a little, she had been trying other smaller spells from the book in preparation for when it was her turn. She stood and looked up to the starry sky overhead "I am going for a walk". Shirayuki had grown to resent the night; it reminded her of the brief blissful moment she spent camped out under the stars in the arms of Zen- the night before that fiery dawn. Night time also meant that it was time to sleep- but her sleep was full of nightmares. She was forced to relive the moments under Lythias' spell. She could clearly see the bloody wound she inflicted upon Kiki and the guilt was intolerable. She remembered how close she had held a blade to Izana's throat and the shame she felt pulled painfully on her heart "don't wander off too far Shirayuki okay?" Shiryauki nodded and slipped away through some nearby trees _I don't want to see anyone right now, I want to be alone._ She walked aimlessly for a while simply enjoying the cool air on her face. Her mind was also wandering aimlessly as she recalled other memories fourth that she had until recently been forced to forget. How she wished for those peaceful days to return. She remembered such mischief that she and Zu would get up to along with Zee. She giggled to herself as she recalled the three of them running wildly around the castle and accidentally breaking a vase. They had buried the broken vase in the garden to avoid getting into trouble. The next morning Shirayuki and Zu had come down to her mother looking at the empty table and scratching her head in confusion "I am sure there was a vase there? Oh well maybe I moved it" Shirayuki sighed. It was strange picking between her two lives; there was Princess Shirayuki who had her two best friends Zee and Zu and her parents. Then there was just Shirayuki- the girl who had lived alone in a magical forest with her mother tree- until she was rescued by a kind stranger. Both of her lives simply existed in her mind side by side as though they were her lives from 2 parallel universes. Somehow it was hard to connect the two yet they both were there. She shook her head _it is useless to make sense of it now, I feel like I need to find out who I am once more- am I the princess or am I just Shirayuki? How do I connect the two pieces of myself inside me?_ Subconsciously she felt her feet wandering. She knew that the sealed entrance to Elliana's forest wasn't far and it was to here she felt she wanted to go. She entered the forest and ran to the clearing that had once been a beautiful meadow. She walked slowly into the middle and crouched down clutching her heart. The forest was desolate and eerie. The flowers had been reduced to dust and the trees were blackened and bare. This had once been both her prison but it had also been her refuge and her home! Seeing it in such a sorry state shocked Shirayuki to her very core and she could no longer fight the sadness that was residing inside her. She was alone and did not need to be strong for the sake of others. She knew that her emotions had put a tight strain on her heart and she was ready to explode. Her grief was slowly turning to anger; she could feel a limitless power gathering within her that she could not control. Elliana had always warned her that using magic that was fueled by anger was dangerous and uncontrollable. Knowing that she mustn't allow this rage to manifest into something sinister, Shirayuki fought against the hatred and anger that was eating away at her. She covered her face with her hands and wailed loudly- sobbing as much as she could. She knew that she held this much power because she had reached her breaking point but her emotions needed to flow…one way or another. Her emotions flowed from her and she wondered; now that she had let them go, if she could ever stop. The weight of the world was seemingly dragging her down and she was strangely reminded of the dive into the lake with Zen, she felt suffocated and once again wondered when she would allowed to be free.

She gasped for breath as she finally calmed down. Now that she had let go a little she felt a little embarrassed at her outburst. She got to her knees and turned around- her eyes widened in shock as she realised she was not alone "what are you doing here?!"

Zen opened his eyes _what's going on? How do I have control?_ He looked around and realised he was in bed. He pulled back the covers and got up. He was always aware of what was happening while Lythias was in control but he did not recall any events that would explain why he was now in control. Lythias was still fused to him because he could sense him there although it seemed as though he was asleep? _That's it! Maybe when he is asleep I am able to take control?_ Zen wandered around restlessly. He could not go to the others because Lythias could wake up and take control once again at any point. Nor did he wish to stay here. He looked out of the window and shuddered when he saw the dark lake below. He left the room and headed for the exit. He had no idea where he wanted to go he just knew he wanted to leave that castle and just roam freely for a while. He walked around the lake and walked into the forest _I won't go to the others but I just want to see them quickly- I want to know how they are doing!_ He stopped momentarily and spotted the spot where he had camped out with Shirayuki. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the feeling of holding her under the stars. This only made it harder to resist going to her more. He carried on walking into the forest but soon found himself running impatiently. He crept through the trees surrounding the make shift village they had built- careful to maintain his distance so as not to startle them _They still think I am Lythias after all._ He watched for a while but was disappointed that he could not see Shirayuki anywhere _maybe it's for the best. If I see her it will only be harder to go back._ He walked away and wandered aimlessly through the forest towards Clarines before stopping and spying the trees he used to enter Elliana's forest _its still here?_ He jumped up but was concerned that none of the trees were holding his weight like before- they crumbled at his touch. He walked through the path and looked sadly around him at the dead forest _I am glad she came with me I could never let her stay here alone._ He walked the familiar path that led to the meadow- or at least it used to be a meadow, he stopped abruptly however. He could hear someone sobbing. He stepped closer before holding on to a nearby tree for support. His eyes were captured by a vision of red hair- Shirayuki's hair. She was knelt alone and crying uncontrollably in the middle of the clearing. His first instinct was to rush to her but he was paralysed in horror. The sight of her crying alone was more than his heart could cope with and somehow it was the worst thing he had ever witnessed. He took another hesitant step forward but stopped and she slowly stood up wiping away her tears. He was unprepared for when she turned around and looked at him with wide, startled and tear-stained eyes "what are you doing here?!" He stepped forward eagerly but was taken aback when she flinched "Shiri! It's me Zen!" her eyes became hopeful but she did not move from the spot "how can I be sure?" he smiled and held out his hand "this is where we first met. Your red hair caught my eyes amongst the wild flowers and ever since then I have been captivated by you...you often say 'chains are not always needed' I agree" she ran forward despite herself and knocked him over with the force of her embrace "how are you here?" he stroked her hair and kissed her forehead over and over again "why are you crying in a place like this? My heart will never recover from that image!" he wiped the remaining tears away and pulled her tightly to him "I don't know the details but it seems that when he is asleep I can regain control...though I am not sure how long for so I am afraid I need to go before he comes back" he stood up and pulled her up with him "must you go so soon?" he nodded with a bitter smile "if I do not go now I will never find the strength to leave you and then I risk putting you in danger...I will walk you back though okay?" she nodded and grabbed his hand as he lead her to the way out.

She gripped his hand tightly "so why _were_ you crying there?" she shrugged slightly and shook her head "I guess I grew tired of trying to stay strong all of the time, I was starting to feel the strain from the huge task at hand and I needed to off-load. I thought that I wanted to return to the forest, I needed to try and connect my two selves and I couldn't seem to find the link... but I have now!" she stopped and squeezed Zen's hand tightly "You are my link Zen! In both of my lives- as a princess and simply just as Shirayuki; the one thing they have in common is you! It doesn't matter if I am princess Shirayuki or just Shirayuki because either way I have you in my life!" Zen faced away with his head lowered "how can I leave you now? How can I go back after hearing such words?" Shirayuki tugged on his hand so that he would face her once more "It is ok Zen, I have found the strength I need to save you! If you go back now, it will not be forever because you can have faith that I will definitely end this!" Zen held her face in his hands and pushed his lips hard against hers. They were entwined under the moonlight and their passion-filled kiss lasted as long as their breath could hold. Eventually Zen pulled away without looking her way "I need to return now, if I can regain control again tomorrow I will return...will you wait for me?" Shirayuki nodded to his back with a brave smile "I will wait for you forever if I have to. Zen why won't you look at me?" Zen laughed quietly before sighing "If I look at you now I will lose my resolve to leave...goodbye Shirayuki" he started walking without a backwards glance "I love you Zen" he grinned and gave in. He turned to look at her "Shiri...I love you too. Goodnight" She watched with a pain filled heart as he walked away from her once more.


	25. Chapter 25

As Shirayuki returned to the village she was surprised to find Izana waiting for her "everyone has been wondering where you have been...you have been crying?" he rushed forward to look closer and Shirayuki lowered her head a little to hide her face "It's nothing" Izana grinned and shook his head "you don't need to lie to me Shirayuki, I understand you don't want to worry everyone but there is no ignoring the hardships you are enduring right now. I know it may not mean too much coming from me but you can talk to me you know?" Shirayuki smiled cheerfully at him "Thank you Izana...it means more than you know. I...I saw Zen" his face expressed deep concern "what happened? Are you ok?" She held her hands up and hurriedly explained the situation "it is ok he was himself! He believes that when Lythias falls asleep his own conscious can take over, he came out here to check that we were all ok!" Izana checked around him to see that they were alone and pulled Shirayuki towards his room "we can talk freely in here" Shirayuki sat awkwardly on Izana's bed. She fondly remembered the times she shared with Izana as a child. Before she had become friends with Zen she had always admired Izana- he was so calm and collected, not to mention he was always so kind to her. Shirayuki chuckled to herself as it dawned on her that she had a childhood crush on him. Izana shut the door and sat next to her on the bed "I am sorry to be secretive like this but I have to be sure of the facts. If others overheard they might jump to conclusions. Please tell me what happened tonight and why you were gone for so long" Shirayuki looked at her fingers as she fidgeted with them in guilt "I am sorry I didn't mean to take so long. I needed some time alone to think. The stress of all of this, I think it may have gotten to me for a moment. It has been confusing suddenly getting my memories back and trying to reconnect with my past. I headed back to the forest where I was living with Elliana and the sight of it dead and desolate just caused my emotions to burst out. Zen had found his way there too and had seen me crying. As I mentioned he said that he thinks that one Lythias is asleep he can take control again" Izana frowned and shook his head "I don't understand though, Lythias also used me as a host yet I never regained consciousness once although I was aware of what was happening; it was like having a dream. Why would it not be the same for Zen? My fear is that Lythias is doing it intentionally; knowing that Zen would rush to us all and then he could spy on us. I could be wrong Shirayuki, however to be safe should you see Zen again I would be cautious. Don't say anything unnecessary because if he discovers our plan he can prepare for it" Shirayuki nodded "I guess I should warn you then. He wants me to meet him again tomorrow night, if it is Lythias' plan to let him have control we don't know what he's planning and I guess it could be dangerous for me to meet Zen" Izana grinned slightly and sighed "your still going to go though aren't you?" she stood up and faced him smiling kindly "of course, even if its risky I need to see him...its what is keeping me going right now!" Izana stood and opened the door for her with a straight face "I can't stop you from going tomorrow but I can warn you to be careful. Good night Shirayuki"

Shirayuki left Izana's room to find her mother stood there with her arms crossed _she's mad at me!_ Shirayuki walked past her in silence "well?" her mother followed her in tow as she walked back to her room "well what mother?" she pulled on Shirayuki's arm to stop her walking away "I asked you not to wander too far, you have been gone a long time everyone was worried!" Shirayuki didn't know why she was suddenly feeling resentment towards her mother but something was irritating her "I didn't go too far, I needed some time alone! Please don't start ordering me around, I was 16 the last time you saw me I am an adult now" her mother released her grip on Shirayuki and spoke silently "do…do you blame me?" Shirayuki shook her head "of course I don't blame you, I just meant that it has been a few years since you saw me and I don't want you to treat me like a child because that's what I was the last time you saw me. I have lived my life freely despite being refined to the forest. I do not desire to be restricted by your stupid rules now- it's suffocating!" Her mother lowered her head "You haven't changed, you know we only enforced rules on you to keep you safe!" despite her best efforts Shirayuki scoffed "what good did your rules do in the end? Take a look around mother! Did sending me to bed early every night keep me safe? Did stopping me having friends, roaming around the gardens or even beyond the castle, keep me safe? No. We have been driven from our home and you and dad were nearly killed…so was Zura! You have no idea. Before I got my memories back I had been a prisoner to the forest. I was not allowed to leave 'to keep me safe' now I got my memories back I find that I was also bound by silly rules before too so that I 'would be safe' and now I am free of the forest and I am fighting to win my freedom because no matter where you hide me I was never safe! I have no desire to win my freedom simply to be bound by your stupid rules!" Shirayuki began crying once again. Her mother wrapped her arms around her so that she could console her "I am sorry, I know I was an overprotective mother and I know you are no longer a child! I also know that you have suffered so much but I only try my best to do what is right for you! But surely you must know Shirayuki, that there is no such thing as true freedom. We are all bound by something we all have rules we need to follow whether we want to or not" Shirayuki looked up angrily "how can you say that! Those very rules prevented you from marrying the person you loved! Yes mother, there are rules we must abide…ethical rules and nature's rules for example. But rules that say I must dress a certain way, act a certain way or even who I must marry- just because I am a princess, is idiotic! Zen knew this too! What would happen if you had promised me to another and denied me to be with Zen. Would you consider my feelings? Would you inflict that pain onto me knowing how it feels?!" Her mother stood there with her mouth open wide in shock "I do not have the answer to that Shirayuki because Zen _is_ the one I chose for you" Shirayuki shook her head "no mother. You may have arranged our marriage and may approve of him, but I chose Zen for myself! The fact that I fell in love with him all over again when my memories were erased proves this! If I didn't love Zen and you had arranged our marriage I would refuse! Never again mother will I be bound by anything! I will serve my Kingdom as their princess and one day as their Queen, but I do not need fancy clothes and stupid rules to do this!" Shirayuki's eyes widened as she looked up and saw her father standing nearby with a wide grin on his face "Well said my dear! It gives me much joy to see how you have grown into such a fiery and strong spirited young woman! You will make a fine Queen! She is right, it doesn't matter what she wears or who she marries- that does not make her a good Queen. What makes a good Queen is her actions and her fearlessness to do what must be done! But Shirayuki, your mother is also right. It is foolish to think that any of us are truly free, as Queen you would be expected to follow certain rules because that is how a society functions we all must follow the Laws that our Kingdom is built on" Shirayuki and her mother both looked down in silence before both laughing and hugging each other "I guess we had our first mother and daughter fight" Shirayuki giggled. Her mother smirked "I enjoyed that, I always knew you resented castle life and yet you would always stay quiet and do what was asked of you. It was refreshing to see you stand up for what you truly desire. I am also blessed to see you as such a fine woman. Come on. Lets go to bed now…its past your bedtime!" She chuckled and Shirayuki stuck her tongue out playfully. She was right though they had a long day ahead of them because they needed to master their respective spells in order for their plan to work!


	26. Chapter 26

**Hi everyone, so so so sorry for the delay in updating I have been super busy but once again I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, follow and review etc it means the world to me to know that you are enjoying my story. Bye for now and hope you enjoy :)**

Shirayuki was laid in her bed staring at the ceiling. She rolled over one way and then another before simply staring at the ceiling again "gaaaaaaaah. I can't sleep!" she clutched her aching heart miserably as she remembered lying under the stars with Zen. It had only been hours ago that she had seen him and yet she missed him so much. Eventually, after giving up on sleeping, Shirayuki left her room and wandered through the nearby trees hoping to empty her mind. She knelt down next to a bush and raised her hand so that she could practice her spells some more. Her shoulders dropped in disappointment as the leaf she was trying to grow wilted. She grabbed at the leaf and moodily snatched it away from the bush so that it would fall to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and stifled the sob that escaped her "your mind is unsettled and so your magic is also" Shirayuki looked up to see Elliana stood next to her "do you need to talk?" Shirayuki looked at the wilted leaf that was on the ground in front of her. Elliana picked it up and reattached it to the bush. Shirayuki watched with interest as the leaf returned to life before nodding slightly. Elliana sat beside her and offered a consoling arm "I have been having trouble connecting the dots, my old life as a princess and my life with you. I was desperately trying to find some link that connected the two- to remind me that no matter which life I am living I am still me. Zen is that link, yet he's not here. I can't focus on anything but how much I miss him. I missed my mother so much yet earlier I was horrible to her because I was fighting my past simply because being a princess means that I am bound by stupid rules. I may have been bound to this forest but I was still free to be myself" Elliana squeezed Shirayuki closely and laughed "I overheard the heated discussion between the two of you I recall that you made up though...don't worry I am sure your mother forgives you. I understand where your mother is coming from though- a mother's worry never ends. You may not be my biological daughter Shirayuki but I love you as my real daughter and so I too worried for your safety when you didn't return. Just as I too worry what Lythias may be planning by letting Zen regain control" Shirayuki lowered her head and sighed "you think I shouldn't risk seeing him too?" Elliana stood up and turned away "you are a woman now Shirayuki and as such are capable of making up your own mind, however as someone who cares about you I would advise you to not risk it again...instead you should dedicate your time to mastering the spell and focusing on freeing him so that the next time you see him, it will really be him and him alone" Shirayuki also stood and hugged her "thank you mother, thank you for your concern and your advice but I promised him. No matter what the risk is I need to see him again!" it was Elliana's turn to lower her head "you needn't call me mother anymore Shirayuki, I was only a stand in after all" Shirayuki shook her head "even though I have remembered my past I haven't forget my life in the forest- you will always be my adoptive mother Elliana" Elliana's smile became bright and cheerful "I should have known that your heart is big enough to love both of us Shirayuki- forgive me. You have already offered me your assurance countless times that I would not be forgotten" Shirayuki looked at the dawning sky "my father once told me that the night is long with no light and so we can not always find what we are looking for. He said that most people wait until dawn- with dawn's light you can find clarity. He also said that waiting for dawn is the easy option but not the quickest; there are those who can build fire to light their paths, or there are those who use the moon's gentle glow to guide them. But while you are waiting for dawn someone else could have already found what you had lost. I think he meant that waiting for things to change won't necessarily be the right answer; you need to make your own solution. I guess he spoke of light to remind me that things seem hard now but one day things won't be so dark" Elliana also looked up to the sky and nodded slightly "your father is very wise, it seems you have found the answer you were looking for through his words" Shirayuki lifted her hand towards the same leaf with a grin and Elliana watched proudly as the leaf grew slightly "Yes I know what I need to do- lets go train!" Elliana and Shirayuki headed to the acorn garden so that Shirayuki could practise some more and they did so for hours more until the sun had risen.

Izana left his room feeling somewhat flustered noting that he had slept longer than intended; he decided to find the others so that he could get an update. Izana found himself smiling upon

entering the garden as he gazed upon the blissful scene before him. Shirayuki was sleeping soundly with her head in Elliana's lap and Elliana was sleeping with her back against a tree. Izana turned around abruptly as he heard rustles from behind him. Shirayuki's mother was stood there also watching the scene with a strange smile on her face "I have never seen her look so peaceful; I can't escape what she said to me yesterday. I have been an over protective mother- I know that! But I didn't want her to ever have to suffer, I think her words made me realise something though. I wanted to protect her from the kind of suffering I endured but looking back on my life I realise that I would not change a thing. The suffering in our lives is sometimes a necessary evil- it makes us who we are. I look at how much my dear Shirayuki has suffered but it was through this she found herself a mother who could give her what my role as queen denied her. She has also found strength by overcoming her own obstacles without interference from her over bearing parents" Izana shook his head gently with a kind smile "I can see that you fear that Elliana is giving Shirayuki all she needs in a mother however you mustn't see it that way. I know Elliana feared that she would also be un-needed now that you are back. I honestly believe that Shirayuki needs you both. She is still acclimatising, she has lived two completely separate lives and all of a sudden she is both people at once. She told me earlier she was struggling to find a link to help her find who she really is and she believes that link is Zen. Whilst it is true that Zen was a part of both lives she also needs the two of you to help her maintain a foot in each life because it is vital she connects the 2. She needs to remember that she is a princess and accept this rather than fight it and she needs to retain her knowledge and growth from her more recent life with Elliana- once the two have joined she can then move into the future with certainty of who she really is. Shirayuki must not see Zen later not only because she is placing herself in danger but because she believes that Zen is the only thing she needs to help her find her way again but she needs to see that the two of you are also necessary and she must not solely depend on Zen" Izana gazed once again upon Shirayuki's sleeping face with fondness. He had remembered watching over her and Zen as children and knew even then that she made Zen happy. Shirayuki's mother placed a gentle hand on Izana's shoulder and stepped closer towards Shirayuki and Elliana "do you really think it is for the best?" Izana lowered his head with a sigh "Zen will not be happy with me but when things are back to normal and he has a chance to reflect on it he will agree that his judgement is clouded from the despair he currently feels from his separation" She nodded and moved even closer with her hand raised "very well. I will do what must be done" Izana rushed forward pushing her hand down with a frown "what are you doing?! I didn't mean to force her into anything I just meant to persuade her!" Elliana's eyes opened from the commotion yet Shirayuki remained asleep "what is going on?" The queen pulled her hand free from Izana "I am ensuring Shirayuki stays away from Zen until we are ready to perform the spells, she proved last night that she will not be told what to do anymore and so I can not rely that she will listen" Elliana remained silent but Izana could sense an unease from her "please Elliana, speak freely I can tell you wish to comment" she looked apologetically at the queen "I do not think that you should force her to do anything- she has reached her own conclusion and you must trust her judgements. She understands the risk involved in seeing Zen but she is a young woman with a lot on her shoulders and the brief moment she was allowed to spend with her love only strengthened her resolve" The queen lowered her hand with tears in her eyes "you are right. This is exactly what she was trying to tell me last night. She isn't a child anymore and I must place my trust in her but Izana said himself that she can't be allowed to see Zen!" Izana grinned and walked over to Shirayuki "care to give us your input?" he poked her cheek with a giggle as she sat up frowning "how did you know I was awake?" he shrugged his shoulders with a wink "surely you were listening?" Shirauki laughed and nodded "yes, I heard everything. Izana you are right I can't depend on Zen alone and I do need both of my mother's because I need to embrace both parts of my life and join them together. I have practised all morning with Elliana and I am confident that I can perform the spell! Tonight I will go and see Zen- because I have a plan to put our bigger plan in action! So I ask you once again Mother, Elliana and Izana- do you trust my judgement?" the three of them stared at Shirayuki in silence before Izana grinned and sighed "I apologise Shirayuki, I realise now that this was more than you trying to have a date. You had a plan all along didn't you?" Shirayuki grinned "took you long enough! Yes when I discovered that Zen was in control after Lythias fell asleep I already suspected that it might be a trap even before Izana warned me of this possibility and so when Zen asked me to meet him again I thought that it would be the perfect time to perform the spell. Zen thinks its only us spending time together and I haven't told him otherwise so that Lythias believes it too. I can use this time that Zen is in control to perform the spell- it should give us the element of suprise. I should have said that WE are going to see Zen tonight because mother is going to secretly join in on my date" Izana felt his heart soar at the thought that this plan could work _I may have my brother back tonight!_ Shirayuki turned to face her mother with a warm smile "do you trust me mother?" she threw her arms around Shirayuki "please forgive me Shirayuki! I should have trusted you all along! I can do my spell if you can do yours!" Shirayuki held her closer as she embraced the growing excitement that was building within her along with the fiery determination _Tonight I will save Zen!_ Elliana clapped her hands together with a wide grin "I trust you Shirayuki I know your plan will work and I know you are ready!"


	27. Chapter 27

"Are you sure you don't want to practise the spell some more?" Shirayuki and her mother had both successfully unfused Elliana from her tree, into the acorn and back again several times, although this had been tiring Shirayuki had great motivation to help her succeed- her desire to save Zen!

"It's ok. I am confident I can do it! I _know_ I can do it! I think I should get some rest though; I will need my strength". Izana had been loitering around nearby watching them practice so that he could find an opportune moment to talk to Shirayuki alone. Finally he saw her leaving her group and heading his way and so he stepped forward.

"Shirayuki, can I have a minute of your time? I realise you need to rest so I promise it won't take long" Izana turned away and walked hastily to his cabin where he held open the door so that she could follow him in. She sat on the edge of his bed and smiled warmly as she waited for him to talk.

"I…I just wanted to thank you Shirayuki. I acknowledge the amount of energy and time you have put into this. I also realise that you have had so much resting on your young shoulders…I -as the next King of Clarines, should have played more part in all of this! I feel like you have suffered unnecessarily as a result of my own incompetence" he lowered his head but Shirayuki wouldn't allow this!

"No Izana! None of this is your fault! You have done exactly what you have needed to! You have been here as a needed presence to keep your people's spirits high! You and Zen have united the people- not only of Clarines but also of Tanbarun! Don't you see what is happening here? We thought we lost everything the day Clarines burned! Yet here we are…we lost nothing! We have each other and although many were injured the body count wasn't as high as it could have been. You all thought your homes were lost but look at us now! We simply built new homes! I made the same mistake as you. I let the pressure get to me and it changed my perception- it was you who made me see the truth! I know who I am now because of you! Now I am going to return the favour"

Izana watched Shirayuki with wide eyes as she spoke with such strength and passion- he was blinded by her fierceness! "Izana, you are their King. You may not have had a coronation yet but you have stood up as their leader and through everyone's efforts we are still standing strong. Yes I am going to be the one to save Zen, but I wasn't strong enough to do it at first and I am not strong enough to do it alone- I have help. You are not strong enough to do it alone either- even you need help and so don't be ashamed that you did not save everyone alone- you did something greater. Under your leadership- and Zen's everyone has banded together as one to remain strong against this threat and one day soon they will band together once again to rebuild their Kingdom- to rebuild their home!"

Izana placed a hand on Shirayuki's cheek and kissed her forehead tenderly "you truly are an amazingly remarkable woman Shirayuki! My brother is very lucky! I hope that one day I too can find a queen who lifts everyone up like you do! I am blessed to have you as a sister-in-law-to-be. You are right we take strength from those around us and from this we can move forward. I wish you luck for later…I pray that you bring my brother home safe. I also pray that no one else in harmed"

Shirayuki stood with an overwhelmingly bright smile that seemed to illuminate the tiny room "it is ok Izana! I swear that no matter what I will bring him back!"

Night had fallen and Shirayuki left her cabin to join up with her mother "feeling ok Shirayuki?" Shirayuki took her hand in her own and nodded with an air of determination "never better!" Shirayuki led the way to the dead part of the forest where she would be meeting Zen. Shirayuki's mother found a larger tree to hide behind and so she sat silently; hidden in the shadows, waiting for when the time was right"

Shirayuki sat in the middle of the dead meadow and closed her eyes as she imagined it as it once was. She remembered the peacefulness of the swaying and delicate flowers. She remembered the floral scent that danced around in the air and always tickled her nose. However mostly she remembered the gentle souls of the trees and plants who lived around her, she could hear faint whispers from them and though it was not any humanoid language their voices still reached her.

It pained her to see those same trees silent and blackened- the trees didn't just look skeletal- they _were_ Skeletal. They were empty vessels that once contained loving souls. Shirayuki looked down as a strong yet gentle hand took hold of hers and raised it to a cheek- Zen's cheek. Shirayuki sniffled as another tear threatened to escape. Her heart felt as desolate as this dead and lifeless forest without Zen and now she could see him once more! She threw her arms around him and pulled him close "I am so glad you came! I have missed you Zen!" he planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and pulled her face to his "I will rush to your side when ever I can! Nothing will keep me from you!"

Shirayuki was trembling as she sat next to her love under the moonlight. Their fingers were intertwined and they were leaning against one another. Shirayuki's mother watched this scene from afar and it burned a hole in her own heart as she remembered a similar scene from her own youth with her first love- Zen's father. It was strange and a little sad to watch their children together like this but she finally understood why the man she first loved had been denied to her; it was so that her own daughter would find happiness in the arms of his son. She sighed slightly with a warm smile "fate surely does work in strange ways, if indeed my own love was denied for the purpose of making way for Shirayuki's then I gladly accept this. Besides I too found true happiness with my dear husband…I guess it really is true that all the suffering we have to endure is necessary because one day it will pave the way for something better…like seeing your beloved daughter find her own happiness!"

Shirayuki closed her eyes and fought the sudden raise in her heart beat as she readied herself to save her love. She looked longingly into his eyes and pictured the time when there will be no shadow of another behind them threatening to take control. She reached out a hand and pulled Zen to his feet "follow me" she led him a few steps away and let his hand fall as she stood on a certain spot in the deadened meadow. She turned to face him and held herself in an attempt to control her building nerves "it was here in this very spot that I once told you that chains are not always needed" Zen nodded and took a step closer to her "I remember, it was the second time I met you for the first time ha-ha!"

Shirayuki took his hand once more and pulled him even closer to her. He noted a strange look in her eyes- it was enticing and feral! His own heart beat started to quicken as he felt her lips on his. Her soft hands stroked the back of his hair before she ran her fingers through it as her kissed intensified. A tear escaped her eyes as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear "chains are not always needed my beloved Zen…but sometimes they are!" she cried silently as she grabbed both of his wrists and held a firm grip as a thorny chain snaked its way around her wrists and then onto Zen's. Shirayuki looked dead into his eyes in determination- ignoring the tearing of her skin as the thorns dragged across it. The two of them stood there bound together in their thorny chains as Shirayuki grinned against her tears "now we are bound together by more than our love! Hold on a little longer Zen soon you will be free!" Zen's head lowered momentarily and when he raised it again the shadow in his eyes had emerged. Shirayuki smirked at him "hello Lythias".


	28. Chapter 28

Lythias' face grinned unpleasantly "you think you have me cornered? What do you expect to do from here?" Shirayuki laughed lightly as her mother appeared. His face fell somewhat before he pulled another smile-an uncertain smile that was meant to convince them he was not at their mercy "I thought you were dead!" desperately, he clung onto Shirayuki "do anything crazy and I will end her!" Shirayuki shook her head sadly "these chains do more than bind your body Lythias; they bind your magic too" he looked down to one of the thorns tearing into him and snarled in anger.

"Do it now Mother! I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up!" Lythias pulled against his restraints desperately though this resulted in nothing more than his skin tearing but as a result the thorns were also dragging away in Shirayuki's arms too. This was problematic because the pain was not only distracting her; it was also weakening her. A wave on inspiration hit her and she focused on the thorns piercing her skin. She could feel the warmth of the connection that had embedded into both of their souls- binding Zen's body was not enough, she needed to Bind Lythias' soul and through this she could block his magic- but could she also draw from it?

She pulled on his warmth and used the thorny chain as a channel; however this required a great deal of concentration and as soon as she focused on this her concentration on the chain faltered. It was no good she needed to rely on her own strength this time!

Blood ran effortlessly down her wrists and onto the ground around her. Her mother rushed towards them as she raised her hand and started chanting the spell. Lythias screamed in agony as his soul was torn away from Zen's. Shirayuki dived forward and hugged him fearing that Zen could also feel this pain. The blood loss was taking its toll on her as a feeling of light-headedness set in. She looked up half consciously as her knees gave way and her mother screamed in desperation "Shirayuki! Zen is free from Lythias! You need to perform the spell!" Zen's eyes widened as he regained consciousness to see his love fading away in front of him with blood pouring from the both of them. He clutched onto her and cradled her in his arms "please, please Shirayuki tell me you're ok!"

She opened her eyes and smiled weakly in response to his voice. Zen held onto her shoulders as she stood up on shaky legs, tearing away the thorny chains. She pulled the little acorn out and felt around for Lythias' presence. She blinked hard against the white that was invading her sight. Performing the binding spell and her wounds had affected her more than she could have anticipated but Zen was free now and she was so close to defeating the evil that had plagued them all long enough.

Zen grabbed her hand "take some of my strength Shirayuki! You do not need to do this alone!" her mother rushed forward and grabbed her other hand. Shirayuki shook her head "no! I won't risk it!" she knew she needed to hurry before he fused onto someone else again and with the added strength from Zen and her mother it would be easier but she did not wish to risk their lives as Zura had! Zen squeezed her hand tightly "it's ok! I trust you Shirayuki! Please use me!" Her mother nodded with an encouraging smile. Shirayuki took a deep breath "ok! Let go if it becomes too much!" With the added strength of her Mother and Zen, Shirayuki managed to pinpoint a lingering soul that was undoubtedly Lythias'. She focussed on him and dragged his soul towards the acorn with all of her might.

She let go of the other's hands in fear that they would give her too much. They tried to grab her hands once more but she knocked them back shaking her head as her legs crumbled beneath her while she poured more of her own strength into the spell. Lythias' soul was strong, he was fighting her with all of his might and it was quickly wearing her down. Zen picked her up fighting his frustrated tears "please, Shirayuki. Do not kill yourself over this! If he is too strong you must not persist. We will find another way!"

Shirayuki shook her head viciously "NO! I will _finish_ this! Elliana trusts me to bring him back to her!" her mother wept and Shirayuki fell onto her hands and knees. Her hands clawed the bloody earth below her as she cried out to the surrounding forest for help; however The earth below her was dead, as were the trees around them- Shirayuki knew this but she needed more power, she needed to stop this man- without risking Zen or her mother any further!

She looked up to the sky above her and prayed with tears running down her face that she could receive some help. She was at her limit and Lythias was not yet fused to the acorn she grasped so tightly in her bloody and dirty hand. She crawled on her knees closer to his presence as her mother wept for her to come back. Zen ran to her and pulled at her arm "stop this Shirayuki! You're not strong enough!" She pulled away from his grasp and walked with unsteady feet closer to Lythias' struggling soul "I _am_ strong enough!" she screamed out with the last of her energy as she pulled relentlessly at his soul. Like an elastic band; he gave way and flew towards her. She steered him towards the acorn before finally giving in to the sleep that was taking hold of her.

She fell forward but was caught by Zen before she hit the floor. He grabbed the acorn from her clenched fist and handed it to Shirayuki's mother with a frown "did she do it?" he lowered his head near her sleeping face sighing with deep relief when he felt the warmth of her breath against his face- she was alive!

Shirayuki's mother closed her eyes with a groan as she held up the acorn "she failed! Lythias is not in this acorn!" she looked around with a deep frown emerging on her face "Shirayuki made contact with him- she succeeded in fusing him to something but I can not locate him- where did she send him?"

Zen stood up with her cradled in his arms "I need to take her back, what do we do about Lythias?" She walked over to a nearby tree and placed her hand on it with a frown "take Shirayuki back, and bring Elliana here" Zen had a bad feeling but he set off towards the others in haste.

Shirayuki remained asleep in his arms throughout the journey back and Zen wondered just how long she would sleep for, she had driven herself beyond the point of exhaustion- any normal person would have died. He clutched at her tightly in his arms; she had done this to herself for the sake of everyone-for the sake of him!

Upon returning he noted how everyone had bound together in a close group- each worried about the outcome. Suspicious eyes cast over Zen as he approached with the unconscious Shirayuki in his arms, instantly he came to his own defence "I am Zen! Lythias has been unfused from me but Shirayuki over exerted herself!" Shirayuki's father rushed forward with concern "where is my wife?" Zen looked directly at Elliana "she requested your presence Elliana"

Elliana showed no expression as she responded "very well I will depart". Izana burst through the crowd and threw his arms around his brother "I knew they would succeed! I am so glad you are ok Zen!" Zen smiled weakly "I need to take Shirayuki to her room" Izana followed him and watched in silence as he laid her down "what happened, Zen? Shirayuki was so confident that she would succeed, yet you have brought her back unconscious and torn to pieces! What of Lythias?"

Zen shook his head and banged his fist against the wall in anger "Shirayuki knew Lythias would fight back, she used a spell to bind him to her, it also blocked his magic but I suspect she was trying to siphon his magic through the bindings into her. I think it was a difficult spell to begin with but she also had to maintain it long enough for her mother to perform her spell and then she was trying to power up too. It was all too much! So when she eventually needed to do her part of the spell Lythias was stronger than her- he fought back too much and she couldn't get him to go into the acorn. She lost control and we do not know where she ended up sending him"

He held his head in his hands, and as he spoke his voice cracked in pain as he looked upon her sleeping and wounded body "I begged her to stop, she isn't supposed to be a Martyr!" Izana placed a kind hand on his shoulder "she knew what she was doing Zen, she is alive and she will recover- for now we must go with Elliana and discover what happened to Lythias so that her hard work is not in vain!"

Zen looked at Shirayuki uncertainly "I don't think I can leave her again Izana!" he stroked her face and fought the tears that threatened to fall "you aren't leaving her Zen, you will return but I think we need to ensure that this is finished once and for all, Shirayuki has done the hard work; let it not go to waste now!" Zen nodded with a sigh and reluctantly left his love.

Shirayuki's father was waiting outside and Zen shook his hand respectfully "please watch over Shirayuki, Izana and I will go with Elliana to your wife- leave the rest to us!" he bowed his head appreciatively "very well, I will wait here for you all to come back"

Elliana had already set off but it did not take them long to catch up "Zen, did the queen mention anything else?" he shook his head "no, she simply requested your presence" Elliana rarely showed looks of concern but on this occasion Zen could tell her mind was unsettled "did Shirayuki fail?" Zen looked to her lowered head and nodded "Lythias is not fused to the acorn- I think he may have escaped"

He knew that Elliana still had faith in her husband; he imagined if the situation was in reverse- could he ever lose faith in Shirayuki? He smiled to himself- _never!_ He knew his love and faith in her would never waiver and the same could be said for Elliana. He could never judge her love for this man who had chosen a wrong path.

They returned to the deadened part of the forest that was once Elliana's home with Shirayuki. Zen found Shirayuki's mother knelt by the same tree he had left her near and Elliana ran forward. Just as The queen had done Elliana placed a hand on the tree and lowered her head with a grief stricken face. She chanted a spell and the tree turned into an elderly man cowering on the floor "Lythias- my dear. This was not supposed to happen!"


	29. Chapter 29

"Is that Lythias?!" Elliana held the frail man in her arms tenderly "yes…and no. He is as I am. It seems Shirayuki fused him to one of these trees…but they are all dead…Lythias, Lythias' fate can not be changed now" Zen watched as Elliana held him to her with large sobs. Izana stepped forward with a deeply embedded frown "can you not perform the spell again? Can you not fuse him to the acorn this time? Can nothing be done?"

Shirayuki's mother shook her head slowly "no. Once he was fused to the deadened tree his life force was also fused…souls have the strength to linger without a shell but only for a short while, ultimately they cannot survive without a shell and as the shell Lythias has been fused to is dead…he is now also dying. No spell can save him because his soul does not have the strength any more to relocate…not to mention he fought so hard against Shirayuki and so he was already in a weakened state…we can not save him"

The man who lay before them was Lythias…the same Lythias who had caused them all pain, the same Lythias who had killed people for his own motives. The same Lythias who had destroyed Clarines, yet as they all gazed on the pitiful man in Elliana's arms, they could not help but feel sorrow for Elliana and be weighed down by his looming death. Zen looked at his brother "I don't get it Izana, why I feel such sadness by this- ought we not to be happy that we will finally be free from his tyranny?"

Izana smiled proudly and placed his hand on Zen's shoulder "be grateful for this sorrow Zen- it shows you are human. Any death is tragic- any loss of life should be mourned. The fact that you feel this despite his sins; means you are capable of love and forgiveness. We should not live our life with grudges- each of us has darkness within and some act on it more than others, but holding grudges means giving in to the darkness…do not forget; death is not justice- how can the sinners atone if they are dead? Lythias was meant to live so that one day he could see the error of his ways and do his best to make it up to the people he hurt"

The frail man coughed weakly "you…you are right Izana- I have sinned and sinned and yet my wife still clings on to me with such love and affection. Isn't it funny how I was so sure of my path until now- death has a funny way of making you see both the light and darkness in yourself" he coughed again in-between his wheezy gasps of breath "allow me to do one good deed before I die…give this to Shirayuki- my apology means nothing but this might ease some of the pain I have inflicted upon her" he held his hand up shakily towards Zen who looked at him in uncertainty "what is it?"

Lythias held out a small bottle "tell her to give this to Zura- it should speed up his recovery…it will do no good for me now without a live shell, it is a potion of my own invention and there is none other in existence" he looked at his aged hands and laughed bitterly "I wanted to live forever and for me to be suddenly thrust into an ancient form such as this- what irony!"

Elliana had not spoken through her tears but she stroked his face and regained composure in his final moments "Lythias, I have watched and waited for years and years for you to see the light within you once more. Grief has a masterful way of awakening such darkness within us all and I have never lost hope that you would conquer it one day. I am sorry that you will not have a chance to show everyone the light that is capable of shining inside you"

A single tear fell from Lythias' face as he gazed upon his great grandsons "I can not apologise to my son because he is not here- he was a better man than I could ever be and despite having a fiend of a father like myself he still managed to achieve such greatness- I hope if anything can be taken from this; a lesson can be learned, do not let grief conquer you…Do not be overwhelmed by jealousy and do not fear death- unless you have lived a wretched life such as I have, without a chance to confront your own treachery. Elliana- I should have accepted your death, you deserved to sleep in peace instead I forced you into a cursed form and then rejected what you had become- you have lived several lifetimes of misery because of me"

She shook her head and smiled despite the overflowing tears "you are wrong, I have had the pleasure of watching over our family as it thrived and flourished- the light you have hidden from us for so long was always present- in our children and their children. I have lived a full life now and now that you have returned to me I will go with you to the other side- our children no longer need me nor does my adopted daughter Shirayuki. I shall give the last of my strength to her so that she can recover and then I will follow you in death"

Lythias nodded once and closed his eyes sleepily "if that is what you wish…my last words are for you my darling wife…thank you. Thank you for never losing faith in me- I love you" his words were barely audible as his life faded away. Elliana watched with a blank face as his body turned to dust in her hands; having come to terms with the fate of her husband and for the fate she had decided for herself, she stood wordlessly refusing to give in to her grief.

Zen stepped towards her in frustration "Elliana! I have already had to sit beside Shirayuki as she lost you once- do you really mean to make her go through that again!" Elliana smiled faintly "she is strong, she has her true family beside her now and without my strength she will remain asleep for a long time- the energy she spent fighting Lythias has all but killed her- had she fought any longer she would have died. You can use that bottle in your hand to revive her; but would she thank you when it can be used to bring Zura back? I am ready to rest with my husband now and if the end of my life means that she can live…well, you already know my decision"

Zen sighed in defeat, Elliana's mind was made up and there was no way he could change it. The thought that Shirayuki could remain asleep for an unforeseeable time also swayed his decision to accept her fate himself. Elliana began her last walk upon the earth with a peaceful smile on her face- she had not received the end she envisioned for her and her love, but she was satisfied with the outcome, fate worked in funny ways and she trusted that all was as it should be. Would Lythias really have seen the light if he had been given a different shell? It was death that ultimately saved him from his darkness.

Once they returned, Elliana turned to Zen "I must go and return to the earth, when I have spread my roots once more bring Shirayuki to me" Zen nodded and grabbed her hand warmly "you do not need to walk to your death alone…great grandmother, allow me the honour of escorting you if it shall ease any fear" Elliana smiled in amusement "I have experienced death before my dear grandson, it is not to be feared by one so pure as yourself- I do not fear it because the fear of death is really just the fear of the unknown- I already know what awaits me" she squeezed his hand gently in gratitude "once again Zen I must ask you to look after Shirayuki- though I know she is no longer alone, she never has been"

He grinned confidently "I swear to you I will make her happy" they entered the acorn garden and Elliana returned to the spot where she dwelled. Everyone else entered the garden and watched with deep respect for Elliana as her roots embedded themselves into the ground once more. Zen blinked against hot tears as Izana entered the Garden with Shirayuki asleep in his arms; he passed her to Zen who kissed her forehead before setting her down before Elliana.

The earth below them rumbled slightly as a great tree root emerged; it reached over and wrapped itself around Shirayuki. Everyone watched in awe as a bright light radiated from the roots as Elliana transferred all of her remaining strength into Shirayuki. Izana placed a consoling arm around Zen as mixed emotions surged through them.

A time of great pain was now past them and a time of healing was to follow…but healing processes are not always painless, Shirayuki was yet to wake and hear of the fate of Elliana. People were still grieving the loss of their loved ones and they had yet to return to Clarines- the home they fled as it burned. Zen knew that before he could run off into the sunset with his love and become King of Tanbarun he needed to help his brother rebuild their destroyed home and help his people in their healing process.

Before dwelling too much on the vast amount of work ahead of them Zen allowed himself a moment of contentment as he watched Shirayuki open her eyes. Zen knelt beside her and pulled her close, knowing he could hold her like this without any fear of the consequences filled him with more joy than he could ever express with words. He kissed her softly and stroked her hair as she blinked in confusion "Zen? What happened?" she sat up and turned to face the large tree behind her, she placed a hand on it gently and sniffled "Elliana…her soul is gone…why?"

Zen opened his hand and presented Lythias' departing gift "You need only know that she gave her life so that you could live yours, Elliana and Lythias are resting together now and Lythias sent this to you so that you can restore Zura" her head lowered "I…I failed, Zen where did I send Lythias? Did…did I _kill_ him?" he wrapped his arms around her protectively "no! No of course you didn't! You were exhausted Shiri, you lost control at the last second and fused him to a nearby tree but he was alive"

She wiped her eyes and shook her head "you and I both know those trees were all dead, he wouldn't have died straight away but his fate was sealed…Elliana, I am so sorry! I was meant to bring him back to you!" she leaned on the tree as she sobbed. Zen watched powerlessly as she once again fell into a pain he could not erase.

Shirayuki's eyes widened suddenly and she fell silent. She could sense the tree's soul reaching out to her, this soul had shared the tree's shell with Elliana- it knew her and it wanted Shirayuki to know; all was well. Shirayuki could almost hear Elliana's words 'do not mourn me, I am at peace'. Slowly Shirayuki smiled and straightened up. She turned around and looked into the faces of those who had also greatly suffered "come on everyone; lets go home!"

 **Ok so I found this a strangely emotional chapter to write haha, possibly because I'm approaching the end in the next few chapters- so rest assured I'm not done yet. I hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it and as always I greatly appreciate the support and comments and follows etc bye for now**


	30. Chapter 30

Shirayuki sighed woefully, she had overcome the darkness that had bound her to the forest and yet she did not feel victorious- Lythias had changed everything she ever believed she knew about good and evil-right and wrong. In the end he had not been the unknown evil lurking in the darkness beyond the forest- he had finally seen the light and Shirayuki mourned the ending she so desperately wished to give Elliana.

She stared blankly through the misted window, past the rainy forest below and to the blurry outline of the distant castle- where she knew her soon to be husband and King was undoubtedly working hard.

A time of suffering had past but Shirayuki knew the pain from a wound would not cease to exist simply because the dagger had been removed- there was a time of healing to follow and undoubtedly there would be scars long after the pain had faded.

The overcast sky outside was mirroring Shirayuki's own mood. Her head slumped against the wall behind her as a knock sounded from the door to her room. Waiting for no answer, the door swung open and an overly energetic Zura bounced into the room with an enigmatic grin on his face "aww come on Shiri, cheer up! It won't be much longer and you will be reunited with your handsome prince"

He sat opposite her on the window seat with a large childish smile "honestly you need to stop being so grumpy, even the maids are staying away from this room because of the depressing aura coming from it!" Shirayuki huffed with annoyance "I'm not grumpy!" She turned her face away from Zu and returned her gaze out of the window.

As soon as she had returned to the castle she had wasted no time in reviving Zura and she was over joyed when he had woke up yet her joy was short-lived when she and Zen had agreed that they needed to return to their own homes to assist with the healing process of their physically and mentally wounded people- a fact of which Zu kept reminding her of "geez Shiri, don't make such a selfless decision and then spend your time regretting it! Don't you think it takes the whole meaning away?"

Shirayuki inhaled deeply and shook her head with a gentle smile "you're right Zu, I need to focus on helping my people and becoming the princess they deserve! I will just have to be patient to see Zen again"

A mischievous grin swept over his face as he leaned in closer to her "Ah I guess I don't need to bother giving you this very important VIP invitation to Prince Isana's coronation where Prince Zen will no doubt be attending- you know since you are so patient as to wait until your people have moved passed this terrible tragedy!"

He began laughing uncontrollably as he held the invitation high above Shirayuki's head as she jumped madly to grab it from his hands "aww no fair Zu! Give it here!" he clutched his stomach as it ached from his laughter as she carried on dancing around below him "haha seriously Shiri- you haven't changed a bit from when we were kids!" she grinned playfully with a slight twinkle to her eye "oh yeah?" she held up her hands with a grin as she called upon her newly mastered powers to aid her. Zura's loud laugh became an amused chuckle as the invitation was pulled from his hand "hey no magic!"

Shiri smiled sweetly as she kissed his cheek "I'm glad you haven't changed either Zu! Thank you for cheering me up!" he wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace "the people aren't the only one's who were hurt Shiri- you have suffered greatly too, it's ok to want to be a good princess and all but don't neglect your own heart, how can you direct people to their happiness if you don't know the way yourself?"

She looked at the invitation in her hand and smiled "you're right- I'm going out!" Zu looked at her in astonishment "going where? It's pouring down out there" She simply shrugged and ran from the room wearing a bright smile.

She ran and ran until she approached the deadened meadow that she had once lived in with Elliana. She came to an abrupt stop and bent over as she caught her breath. She had left the castle in the spur of the moment however she wasn't really sure what she was trying to achieve- was she really thinking of running all the way to Zen?

For a moment she stood in silence and listened to the rain as it fell mercilessly around her as though hoping she would hear the answer in the pitter patter of the droplets, she shook her head incredulously- she could hear a faint murmur but it was not human! Kneeling down, Shirayuki ran her fingers into the sodden earth, burrowing deeper and deeper until she found the small flicker of life that had reached out to her.

Smiling happily as realisation washed over her, Shirayuki fed the earth below her a small amount of her energy and waited in anticipation as the small shoot began to grow. Shirayuki knew that the mother tree- although now devoid of Elliana's soul, was nearby. This gave her hope that life could be rekindled using the mother tree and Shirayuki's magic as a catalyst.

As was the case with her people, the meadow would need time to heal but just as the people had began to rebuild their homes and their lives- the meadow had slowly begun to reform- starting with a single shoot that had fought its way to the surface to greet Shirayuki!

Having being absorbed in her task at hand, Shirayuki did not sense the lingering presence that had been watching from a short distance- his eyes rested on the bright red hair that shone against the darkness of the empty forest.

Careful to not disturb the woman before him while she was concentrating, the onlooker approached silently from the shadows chuckling to himself despite his eagerness to remain concealed for as long as possible- unfortunately the woman before him stirred and jumped to her feet- having seemingly heard him.

Her large green eyes widened even further as they locked on to his face "Zen! Why are you here?" Zen almost missed the droplets that were falling from her face as they camouflaged against the rain, however he had already closed the distance between them so much so that he could feel their warmth- despite the icy coldness of the ever falling rain.

Offering no response to her question he pulled her close to him and held her tightly, she smiled in understanding "in order to show our people the way to happiness we need to know how to grasp it ourselves- right?"

Shirayuki attempted to take a step back in order to see his face however Zen's grip on her tightened as he whispered into her ear "not yet…let me hold you a little longer" her arms wrapped around him gently whilst she pushed her face upwards to greet his soft lips. The rain had become increasingly heavier yet neither of them were willing to part again.

Zen eventually stepped back though his arms remained around her in a lose embrace as his eyes focused on his love's face "I had no idea I would find you here Shiri, though it makes sense. I was thinking how much I have missed you, we were separated for so long then when we finally could be together we left so that we could help our people. I can't say I have been much help though..." Shirayuki giggled and nodded in agreement "you were gloomy too?"

Zen laughed in response and shook his head sadly "yes...I couldn't concentrate- my mind was always on you. What you said earlier- in order to show our people the way to happiness we need to know how to grasp it ourselves? I think that is it exactly and that is why I think I came here today-I want to Marry you...right now!"

Shirayuki winked playfully "I want to marry you too but... first close your eyes!" Zen seemed surprised by this but nodded with a grin as he closed his eyes regardless "why?" when he opened them Shirayuki had vanished yet signs of her presence were evident by her quiet giggling nearby "we made a promise remember! To have a fun wedding and play hide and seek- you're IT!"

A huge wave of amusement washed through Zen as he began his hunt through the forest to find his wife-to-be. The rain was hiding the sounds of her footsteps and the sun had now set. Every now and then he would see a flash of red as the moonlight reflected from her still damp hair- yet when he approached the spot she was not there "hey isn't this more like cat and mouse?" he called out to the empty forest.

He turned slowly on the spot as he listened out for her reply "hehe come catch me then!" there was something irresistible about chasing a woman who was running yet wanted to be caught. Zen found her once again, changing his tactics he dived to catch her whilst she tried to evade him once again yet Zen was quicker. His arms wrapped around her as she squealed in excitement with a tantalising gleam in her eyes as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"what a naughty fiance you are Shiri- running away from your prince!" she smiled sweetly and placed her hand gently on his cheek "thanks to you- I never have to run away again! Shall we get married now?" Zen stole one more kiss "I shall meet you at the alter at dawn" these words were a mystery to Shirayuki but she knew Zen had a plan "and where will this alter be?"

Zen winked "just meet me here and I will show you-leave everything to me" Zen offered a final parting kiss and turned away leaving Shirayuki's stomach dancing in joy, nerves and a whole lot of excitement.

 **SO SO sorry for the delay! I sincerely hope it is worth the wait. I am planning the next chapter right now so there shouldn't be too much longer to wait! Thank you to everyone once again for taking the time to read this :)**


	31. Final Chapter

Shirayuki hadn't even made it onto the castle grounds before she bumped into Zu "sorry Zu, did my father send you to find me? I have been with Zen"

Zu's face was round with glee as Shirayuki approached him. She had expected him to offer his arm and escort her back, however this was apparently not the case "I know- I have just received a message from Zen. Everything is taken care of- go get some rest. I believe we have a long day ahead of us"

The soldier that had just brought Zu's horse proceeded to escort Shirayuki back to the castle once she had seen him vanish from her sight.

Despite the late hour the castle was strangely active as Shirayuki returned into its warmth. Her mother rushed forward with watery eyes followed by her strangely crinkly eyed father "oh my dear! Zura told me the news! To think that our daughter is going to get married in the morning!"

Shirayuki frowned as she observed the buzzing attendants who were rushing around madly. Somehow irritation had quickly set in as Shirayuki grabbed a bunch of flowers out of a nearby maids' hands and set them down abruptly.

"Woah! Back up a second! Please listen to me; I don't want any of this! Zen told me he's taking care of it. I just need a nice dress to wear"

Her parents glanced at each other in uncertainty "but sweetheart- you're a princess! You deserve the best, everyone will want to attend we need to make it presentable"

Shirayuki shook her head madly with tightly grasped hands "NO! I don't care about formalities. I have already been forced into a formal wedding and it is not how I want it to be this time for my actual wedding! I promised Zen I would meet him tomorrow- he is taking care of it!"

With hot anger coursing through her, Shirayuki returned to her room and to her former position on her window seat.

A loud sigh escaped her as she considered just how quickly her life had returned to the way it was all those years ago- it was precisely because things had been that way that she and Zen had made the promise to marry the way they wanted to! So that they knew their marriage was that of love and not of duty from their royal heritage.

A small tear emerged as Shirayuki considered another factor that had not changed- the strain on her relationship with her parents. Once again, were they not to see eye to eye because of the formalities expected from Shirayuki as a princess?

She had been so relieved to learn that they were alive and well, however it all seemed like a strange dream that was long in the past. Somehow everyone was trying to fit into life in the castle like it was before- as though nothing had changed.

She shook her head in frustration- that wasn't healing! Simply stepping back into the way things were before and pretending they weren't there wasn't how they were supposed to heal.

Shirayuki couldn't do it. She couldn't step back into her old life because she had lived as a different person since then and had already found a way to connect the two.

Realising that she now needed to help the others to also connect, Shirayuki smiled as she finally understood what she needed to do as their princess.

It wasn't upholding formalities, once she and Zen were married, they would take over as the next rulers. They could then show everyone how to move into an era of prosperity for the two kingdoms.

A small knock at the door somewhat startled Shirayuki, awakening her from her thoughts. She watched as her mother came into the room with something draped over her arms wearing a warm smile "please forgive us Shirayuki. I guess the news was so sudden and surprising when you had already agreed to hold off a little while, that we seemed to panic and went a little overboard"

With a strained smile she sat opposite Shirayuki "it seems all we know what to do as mother and daughter is fight after-all"

Shirayuki held onto her mother's hand offering a gentle smile "no, please forgive me mother. I over reacted, I should have been grateful that you were trying so hard to organise everything for me in a single night. I know that you only wanted what was best for me"

Shirayuki watched as the queen stood once again with a small shake of her head "no. We were being selfish. We weren't thinking about what you wanted- we were only concerned about making a good impression- having been absent from our royal positions for so long. If we had been thinking about you- we would have asked you what you wanted"

Watching as her mother uncovered what was in her arms, Shirayuki leant in closer with interest "this was my dress- I never got to wear it though. I was denied the wedding I wanted to begin with because of those formalities you hate so much- I feel it would be fitting if you were able to wear it to your wedding instead. I would offer you the dress I wore to wed your father- something tells me however it would be too formal for what you want"

The dress was elegant yet rather simple. Appropriately white however there was a pale blue ribbon at the waist which matched the thin straps. This dress was seemingly made to cling to the figure, there was also a noticeable absence of netting and underwire.

As Shirayuki held it against herself, the slightly shimmering and silky material fell to the floor in a shallow pool around the ankles- it was perfect!

"thank you! I love it- even the colour of the ribbon matches Zen's eyes!" even through the darkness, the deep red of her mother's cheeks could not be mistaken "Zen, he has his father's eyes. It was for this reason I picked this dress. I want you to wear it Shirayuki because of what it embodies for me- and for you"

With a gentle caress of her dear daughter's cheek, the queen kissed the top of her head "this represents the life I was denied yet am able to happily grant you. I want you to grant both of our dreams and marry the man you love. Don't get me wrong Shirayuki, I love your father- my dreams eventually came true. But in order for that to happen I had to give up on one dream and simply find another- I don't want you to have to give up on your dream. Now get some rest- good night"

Despite her nerves Shirayuki's exhaustion had made it so that she managed to sleep- yet there was no light in the sky when she was being shaken awake "Shiri. Shiri- wake up!"

Her heavy eyes opened unwilfully against the moonlight before the silhouette of Zu blocked it from her sight "hey quick come on get dressed!"

Zura's face held the same excitement on it as back when they would sneak out at night as children- something about this nostalgic smile of his woke Shirayuki up.

Quietly she climbed out of her bed "what's going on Zu?" he handed her the dress that was draped over the nearby chair with a wink "ready to get married- Zu, Zee and Shiri style?"

A large grin broke out on her face as she took the dress from him. Zu stepped outside her door until she was changed before grabbing her by the hand and running to his horse.

Hair blowing in the wind as she held on to Zu's back, Shirayuki laughed joyously while watching the fading castle behind her.

They rode into the trees ahead just as dawn began to break. Zu stopped in a place most familiar to her as he held out a hand to help her down.

With a mischievous grin and an extended arm- Zu lead Shirayuki down a path of wild flowers and into the secluded part of the forest where the mother tree was.

As Shirayuki entered 'Elliana's garden' she saw her happiness waiting for her. Zen was waiting under the mother tree that had been adorned with wild flowers- the same that were trailing on the floor in front of her in order to make a makeshift aisle.

With each step she took towards Zen the sun seemed to follow behind her, it rose higher and higher overhead leaving a fiery red sky in the distance.

Zen swallowed hard as he watched her bare feet tiptoe through the flowers towards him. Her hair was wild and flowing in the early morning wind along with the blue ribbon that was tied around her slight waist.

With bright eyes that mirrored the perfect green leaves around them she gazed upon Zen as she finally reached him at the altar.

Zu passed her dainty hand to Zen with a large boyish grin "Zee- look after Shiri!" though Zen nodded in response to Zu's words, his eyes refused to leave Shirayuki.

Zu stood before them and cleared his throat "the three of us have been through a lot, against all odds we are back together again. Once again we are throwing tradition and formalities out of the window!"

Shirayuki giggled as she watched Zen roll his eyes at Zu's performance "I stand here before you two as the man giving Shiri away- despite not being her father. Also, as Zen's best man- despite also acting as the one who is marrying you- you can't have a more untraditional wedding than that!"

The three of them laughed in harmony, Zu took a step back as his face fell serious "I truly wish happiness for you both- I know as husband and wife you will both make amazing rulers and I swear upon the memories of our childhood; I will stand behind you both until the end!"

Zu handed the rings to them and Zen nodded in thanks "I love you Shirayuki, I know we had a happy childhood together with Zu. However, the moment that will always stand out to me most of all was when I first saw you after we lost our memories. You were sitting all alone in the meadow and you were just shrouded in mystery. I promise to become the husband you need who will stand with you in order to further unite out two kingdoms"

Shirayuki blinked through her tears as the hand that was now decorated with Zen's ring wiped them away "Zen, I want to thank you. It is thanks to you I was freed from the forest. It was thanks to both you and Zu that I was able to find some freedom in my childhood against the many rules…"

Shirayuki shook her head with a small laugh before continuing "I find it almost ironic; all this time I have been unbound by you, you have saved me time and again. Yet now with this ring I am willingly, for life- bound to you!"

Shirayuki's lips touched Zen's as Zu announced that they were now husband and wife.

Looking into the eyes of the man who had captured her heart, Shirayuki briefly wondered what the future held for her and her husband.

She knew there was no way to know for sure what awaited them, all that mattered was that they could take the journey together- bound by their everlasting love.

 _Thank you for reading Unbound by you, I hope you have all enjoyed reading it and I would love to hear from you all if you loved it. I intend to go back over everything and proof read again because despite my efforts mistakes still worm their way in._

 _If you enjoyed this please check out my other stories too!_


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